Protest as work stops on controversial Newton Abbot project

Protesters gathered at a building site on the outskirts of Newton Abbot early today (Tuesday 29 April) as the battle continued to save a unique wildlife refuge.

Officers from Teignbridge Council have stepped in to call a halt to the work amid claims that developers from Vistry Homes have gone beyond the limits of the permission they have been granted.

The row centres on a large drainage pond being excavated in Stray Park Meadow by builders working on the latest stage of the huge NA3 development at Wolborough.

The campaigners fear that the works will cause irreparable damage to the Wolborough Fen, which is an official Site of Special Scientific Interest and home to a number of rare plants.

Teignbridge Council advised the developers last week that they should stop work on some parts of the site until the wrangle was resolved.

However, an email from planning officers to councillors – seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service – says work to create drainage ponds which currently fall outside approved areas had continued, including the work in Stray Park Meadow.

An enforcement officer has been to the site and a decision has been taken to issue a temporary stop notice, and the developer has been informed.

“We must preserve this area,” said campaigner Richard Daws, an Independent member of Teignbridge Council whose Ambrook ward includes part of the site earmarked for the NA3 development of more than 1,200 homes.

“Once something like this is gone, it’s gone for ever.”

A spokesperson for Teignbridge Council confirmed: “Teignbridge District Council is today serving a temporary stop notice on the Vistry group for a potential breach of planning control at the Wolborough Barton (NA3) development in Newton Abbot.”

The fen supports a range of wetland animals and plants including dragonflies and wildflowers. Some of its delicate plants appear nowhere else in Devon, while others appear only on Dartmoor.

It is thought that the way water drains into the fen is responsible for its unusual plant species.

The whole NA3 development has been dogged by legal challenges and appeals since it was first mooted almost 15 years ago.

In 2015, a Court of Appeal judge set out strict criteria for the development, and there were planning appeals in 2019 and 2020. Outline planning permission was granted by the Secretary of State, but with key safeguards to protect the Wolborough Fen.

Cllr Daws went on: “It’s one of those one-way streets. You can’t reintroduce a Site of Special Scientific Interest once it’s gone.

“The sad fact is that if you do cover a whole hillside in concrete, then the water from the area that has been feeding the fen for hundreds of years, maybe thousands of years, won’t be there unless it’s managed properly.

“So that needs to be handled with care and consideration.”

More recent planning applications for building on sections of the site have also been controversial.

Developers Vistry Homes came to Teignbridge Council’s planning committee late last year asking for permission to create a public open space, but councillors voted to defer a decision until they had more information, particularly about the potential for damage to the fen and its rare plants.

Council officers said in a recent meeting that objections can be catered for by imposing strict conditions on the development, and Vistry say the environment for wildlife will be improved.

A spokesperson for Vistry Group commented: “We will continue to work in partnership with Teignbridge Council to resolve any concerns they have and to ensure that recommended planning procedures are adhered to.”

Earlier this year South West Water added to the complications over the site by saying it did not have the infrastructure in place to cope with the planned homes’ foul water drainage, and would not have capacity for up to 12 years.