Newton Abbot Town Council to await Wolborough Planning Inquiry before commenting on plans for 219 homes.

Newton Abbot Town Council to await Wolborough Planning Inquiry before commenting on plans for 219 homes.

NEWTON Abbot Town Council (NATC) has said it is impossible to make an informed comment on plans for 219 homes at Wolborough Barton until the outcome of a forthcoming public inquiry is known.

The site along Totnes Road has outline planning permission as part of the bigger NA3 Urban Extension being overseen by Teignbridge District Council.

Now the developers, David Wilson Homes and Barratt Homes, are seeking approval of ‘reserved matters’ such as the layout and types of properties.

On Tuesday March 10, members of NATC’s Planning Committee met to consider the scheme but found themselves unable to pass comment ahead of the public inquiry into other parts of the NA3 project, proposed by Vistry Homes.

The inquiry, ordered by Planning Inspector Tom Bristow, is set to examine the potential the impact of the development on Wolborough Fen, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Cllr Janet Bradford told the meeting: ‘There’s a public inquiry coming up… to save the fen. We can’t possibly comment until we know the result.’

The meeting heard that Natural England (NE) had also found it impossible to offer its opinion on the scheme.

In an email of March 4 to Teignbridge District Council, NE Higher Officer for Sustainable Development, Mark Wills, stated: ‘There is insufficient information to enable Natural England to provide a substantive response to this consultation.’

He added: ‘Natural England notes that the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) has not been produced by your authority, but by the applicant.

‘As the competent authority, it is your responsibility to produce the HRA and be accountable for its conclusions. This also applies to a HRA which is adopted by the competent authority but produced by someone else.

‘Once your council has reviewed the Applicant’s HRA, they should either confirm to Natural England that they are satisfied with it and that the Council will adopt it, or they should provide their own HRA and consult Natural England if appropriate.’

Members of the NATC Planning Committee agreed to withhold a comment until the above matters had been resolved and the relevant information obtained.

The application now passes to Teignbridge District Council.