We’ve welcomed Torridge District Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for a clutch of new homes on a sensitive site on green fields outside the development boundary of the village of Black Torrington. We had objected to the proposal for 10 new dwellings on the outskirts of the village, as had many residents.
Our principal objections included poor design quality, poor sustainability credentials and insufficient detail (including a landscape visual assessment and contextual drawings). We concluded that under the criteria of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the adverse impacts of the proposed scheme would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the economic benefits of housing delivery.
Torridge District Council’s decision, published on 20 August, noted that: “By reason of the site’s location: isolated from key day-to-day services found in distant settlements, 200m distant from the nearest footway in Black Torrington with no lighting, with very limited access to public transport options, future occupiers of the development would be in an unsustainable location which would not reduce the need to travel by private motor vehicles nor provide safe and suitable access to the village.”
And also stated that, “The proposed layout, scale, form and appearance of the development would not constitute high quality design. It would not respect or reinforce the locally distinctive and positive character and appearance of the settlement or the site’s rural surroundings, which will harm the character of the countryside and the edge-of-village location.”
Devon CPRE Director Penny Mills, “We submitted a comprehensive objection to this proposal almost a year ago, citing numerous reasons why this development should be refused. It’s really good to see that the council’s Planning Officer has agreed with us!
“We recently supported villagers who were fighting the construction of 9 homes on the outskirts of Westleigh. That proposal was also turned down by North Devon District Council and the subsequent appeal was dismissed by a planning inspector. It’s not about the number of new homes – these are modest numbers – it’s about whether they are the right type of homes in the right place. In Black Torrington, as in Westleigh, they were not.