‘End game’ in sight for Devon’s longest planning wrangle

More than £10,000 has been raised by Newton Abbot environment campaigners as they prepare for what could be the ‘end game’ for the town’s most controversial building site.

The campaign to save the Wolborough Fen is one of the longest running and most controversial planning issues in Devon.
Now a government inspector will hear an appeal next week (February 11) in an effort to end the wrangle over how water finds its way into the fen, which is an official Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and home to species which are found nowhere else in Devon.
Developer Vistry Homes, which is building some of what will be 1,200 homes on green fields on the outskirts of the town, says the fen is in safe hands, and its work is outside the catchment area for water flowing into the fen.
Campaigners disagree, and say this is the last chance to save the fen from the effects of changes in the way water pours in from the development on the hills above. They fear the fen will be contaminated, and a priceless wildlife haven will be lost forever.
Natural England, which is the government’s go-to authority, has reviewed data provided by Vistry and says it is happy for work to proceed.
But the Devon Wildlife Trust has expressed ‘significant concerns’ about the so-called NA3 housing development, and says it has not seen any proof that the site will be protected from damaging changes to its water levels.
Matters reached a head last summer when Teignbridge Council stepped in and halted work on the building site, saying Vistry had overstepped the mark. Work has since re-started.
Now the government inspector is aiming to get to the bottom of the issue once and for all.
A crowdfunding web page set up by ‘Wolborough Hills’ to meet the legal costs of the appeal has raised £10,483.
A statement on the page says: “The fight for the Wolborough Fen SSSI is reaching its conclusion. The appeal hearing is a moment that could shape the future of this precious landscape.”
It says the issue hinges on the site’s hydrology, and the major concerns raised by Devon Wildlife Trust and the Wolborough Residents’ Association. It also argues that Natural England is no longer able to fulfil its basic purpose.
“We urgently need legal representation to stand our ground at the hearing,” says the statement. “Facing the largest housebuilder in the UK and their eye-wateringly expensive lawyers is no small task.
“Wolborough Fen is too rare, too fragile, and too important to lose. Protecting this unique site – one of extraordinary ecological value – depends on whether Devon Wildlife Trust and the Wolborough Residents Association can be properly represented in what could be the decisive stage of this battle.”
As part of its case for the appeal, the residents’ association has obtained a report from a hydrogeology and groundwater expert which disputes the findings of Natural England.