Favourite name emerges for East Devon’s second new town

A name has been chosen in a public vote for East Devon’s second new town that will one day host around 8,000 homes.

Four possible names were included in the public survey –  Newton Clyst, Marlcombe, Willowcrest, and Clysthope – and more than 1,700 votes were cast.
Respondents were asked to rank their names in order of preference, with Marlcombe receiving the highest number of first-place votes.
Marlcombe, which is expected to be complete by around 2050, will be built on land between Exeter Airport and Crealy theme park and the nearby Hill Barton business park.
Councillor Todd Olive, (Liberal Democrat, Rockbeare and Whimple), the cabinet member for place, infrastructure and strategic planning, who himself had voted for Clysthope, said he thought the survey had experienced a “really good response”.
“I’m really pleased with the engagement,” he said.
“We spoke to our parish councils for inspiration, and Marlcombe was a suggestion from Clyst Honiton parish council, with one of their members doing some research and digging the name up from an old tythe map of the area.
“It was a previous name that had since fallen out of use.”
Marlcombe secured 930 first-place votes – equivalent to 54 per cent of responses – with Newton Clyst coming in second with 475 first-place votes. Willowcrest was third with 238 first-place votes and Clysthope last with 63.
Cllr Olive added that a choice of name was an “exciting milestone”.
“Agreeing Marlcombe as the name for this new community is the first in a number of important steps to be taken in the next few months, all as part of EDDC’s approach
to ensuring we learn the lessons of Cranbrook,” he said.
“These include up-front infrastructure alongside new homes, which will be considered by cabinet in October 2025.
“This will be followed by a public consultation on the masterplan as a critical part of our new local plan to help ensure the vision for Marlcombe as an exemplar new community
for East Devon is achieved.”
Cllr Olive added that there is a desire for a development corporation to be created so the council can better control when homes are built in relation to vital infrastructure.
While Cranbrook had some successes, such as the rapid opening of its first primary school, some key services – such as a major supermarket – only opened last year and work is still ongoing to secure part of the town centre.
A community hub – set to be called Cranbox due to its modular construction – received £1.9 million in funding last year, at which time planners said they hoped the scheme would be completed in 2025.
The first residents moved into Cranbrook in 2012.