A Devon MP has been reassured that money will be found by the government to police new towns when they spring up in the local countryside.
Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Honiton and Sidmouth, raised the issue during a Home Department debate at Westminster.
“Residents in Devon want visible community policing,” he said. “The new towns taskforce recommended a new settlement called Marlcombe in East Devon. When new towns are built, how are additional police officers allocated to the area?”
His question was answered by Home Department Minister Sarah Jones, who is the Labour MP for Croydon West.
She told him: “We are ensuring that each police force has the additional funding that it needs, and we are rolling out our target of 13,000 additional police officers.
“This is an interesting question about new towns, and ensuring that we have policing in them. We are reviewing the police funding formula, which is outdated, as everyone in this place knows.
“Through all those things together, we will ensure that his community is supported.”
The project to build a new town at Marlcombe, just off the A30 beside Exeter Airport, is still on the books despite failing to secure government backing as one of seven favoured locations chosen by the New Towns Taskforce.
Marlcombe, when built, will have a target of 40 per cent affordable housing, while the plans also include a new secondary school, primary schools, health facilities and a dedicated town centre with shops and leisure facilities.
It will have between 8,000 and 10,000 new homes built across approximately 500 hectares of greenfield land. The first homes are expected to be completed in the early 2030s, with approximately 3,300 homes built by 2042 and full completion around 2050.
The name Marlcombe was chosen by public vote last year. It is a historic name found on 17th-century tithe maps for the area.
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