Against substantial opposition from residents of Stoke Fleming, South Hams Planning Committee, conditionally granted planning permission to build 13 retirement cottages and six affordable homes in a field beside School Road in Stoke Fleming. There are 41 car parking spaces proposed.

Mr Nick Duckworth who attended the Planning Committee hearing at South Hams, claims that the planning committee were swayed by the potential for an appeal by the developer, Blue Cedar Homes, leading to a costly defence of a decision to refuse planning. This is detailed in our Letters to the Editor.

The planning condition imposed by South Hams was a minimum of 30% affordable housing on the site with four of them to be rented and two to be offered in shared ownership.

Detailed objections were considered by the planning officers, some running to pages of closely written text and illustrated with photographs and drawings. These outweighed in number, the letters of support by 41 to 10. Most objections came from people resident in roads nearby or next to the proposed development site. Supporting emails came from residents as far away as Salcombe, Loddiswell and Buckfastleigh.

All objections mentioned traffic and parking. Many citing the fact that there would be increased traffic in a school road as children are dropped off or picked up from school. They pointed out the restricted width where School Road meets Church Road. Noise and pollution were also a theme and every objection pointed out, that the land is in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

An AONB officer advised against the application according to Mr Duckworth, who attended the planning meeting at Follaton House, but the ANOB officer did not attend. However, according the landscape report which is based upon an examination of the planning file and submitted plans and is included with South Hams’ files; “The current proposed development will have an impact on the South Devon AONB; however, this is limited through design, scale and mitigation. In assessing the wider impacts, and identified visually constraints of the site, the overall character, special qualities and visual amenity is conserved.”

The development is of an area that is not proposed for development by the parish’s neighbourhood plan. However, this plan has not yet been passed examination by an inspector, a requirement of Neighbourhood Plans Act.