Work halted on major Teignmouth homes site

Developers working on a major housing scheme in Teignmouth have been told to stop work in a wrangle over flood risks and wild flowers.

eignbridge Council says it considers that planning controls have been breached on the site.
It is the third high-profile ‘stop notice’ to be issued by councils across South Devon in recent days.
In Newton Abbot Vistry Homes was ordered to stop work on part of the huge ‘NA3’ site at Wolborough amid fears its work on drainage ponds would compromise drainage into a sensitive wildlife site.
In Torquay a different developer was told to down tools after part of a building was knocked down as part of a controversial redevelopment at Singleton Gardens.
Harrington Homes gained permission in 2022 for more than 240 homes off Teignmouth’s Higher Exeter Road after months of negotiations over the impact of the site on local wildlife.
Objectors protested over the felling of trees and raised concerns over the effect on plants including the corky-fruited water dropwort.
Councillors also said they feared Teignmouth’s sewerage system would be overwhelmed, and local schools would not be able to cope with the extra numbers the development would create.
Now, with work well under way on the site, objectors have raised fresh concerns over the dumping of building waste and topsoil on what they say is a protected meadow.
Pictures show mounds of compressed soil around three metres high.
The temporary stop notice has been served by Teignbridge Council on four directors of Teignmouth-based Harrington Homes. It says: “The council considers that there have been breaches of planning controls.”
It goes on to explain the full reasons for work being stopped, which include drainage and the risk of flooding. It says storing the mounds of soil could jeopardise protected plants.
The stop notice will stay in place until 27 June, and the developers cannot appeal against it.