Unusual village housing plan kicked into long grass as football pitch approved

An unusual scheme to build 20 homes alongside amenities such as a farm shop, hall and village green has been rejected by planners but a linked application for a football field is going ahead.

The proposed scheme for Awliscombe, roughly two miles west of Honiton, featured one application for the houses and other community features, while a separate but linked proposal was submitted to turn some agricultural land into a recreation area.
East Devon District Council officers had recommended the scheme be refused, although some councillors tried to convince colleagues to approve the plan.
The new houses would have been built in the middle of the two existing parts in the village, almost joining them together, but officers flagged that the location would be considered as development in the countryside and therefore contrary to planning policy.
Officers said it wasn’t a “community-driven proposal”, albeit some in the village did support the idea.
They added that a five-home scheme in Awliscombe that featured three affordable dwellings had been approved in previous years and “remains extant”, suggesting that the need for affordable housing in the village was already being served.
Agent Ed Persse, from EJFP Planning, said the applicant R. Falle, had been working with the parish on this mixed scheme, which would include eight affordable homes and four aimed at the over-sixties’ downsizing market.
“It would bolster the council’s housing land supply, and also the council’s affordable housing officer supports it,” he said.
“The parish has protection over the land use and the site is outside the national landscape.”
But Wendy Ormsby, the council’s development manager, said the scheme actually proposed a location for a village hall, but not an actual building.
“Is there a willingness to actually build a second hall in the village at the cost of the community,” she asked.
“A new hall isn’t proposed as part of the development, so it is wrong to assume it will be a built structure.”
Cllr Colin Brown, (Conservative, Dunkeswell and Otterhead) said he thought the committee “should approve the scheme” based on a previous survey which showed the majority of respondents wanted affordable homes built.
Cllr Jenny Brown (Conservative, Honiton St Michael’s) agreed. “There is a need for affordable housing, and if somewhere has a school then you’ve got families, and you don’t want people moving out of thee villages,” she said.
“Villages need to grow and this is giving Awliscombe a chance for a more community feel, more social wellbeing and an age-balanced community.”
Cllr Ian Barlow (Independent, Sidmouth Town) added that even though council policy technically meant the development should be offering more social housing, he thought the scheme had merit.
“We always knock developers for being greedy, but here is one working with the community,” he said.
But Cllr Simon Smith (Independent, Axminster), who acknowledged this view, added that “it is important to differentiate between community-led and community-supported”.
“The parish council’s support focuses on the benefits of the football pitch and the other things it is looking to get rather than the extra housing,” he said.
Ms Ormsby added that there had been 25 letters of objection to the scheme and one neutral comment sent to the council about the plans with no letters of support.
While the housing application was narrowly refused, with six members opting to reject it against four in favour and three abstentions, the separate application for the playing field was approved.
Cllr Barlow added: “Hopefully this debate sends a message to the developer that this plan has merit, and so perhaps they can work with the officers so Awliscombe can have the houses and other facilities to go with it.”