This was, until recently, a green field. All the green fields north of Pilton are now at risk of ‘development’, like this one. Five sites have already been given approval by your planners – including Trayne Farm, which is outside the supposed ‘development boundary’. At least two more sites are ripe for ‘development’, including Manning’s Pit, a well known and well loved local beauty spot.
Your planners have paid scant heed to the protests of the local community. They say they have no choice in this, and it’s the fault of the Government. It’s true that the NPPF, the ‘National Planning Policy Framework’, is generally an abomination (see The Planning System for more detail). But your planners have lacked the skill, or intelligence, to make use of the many arguments which are available to them, which we have provided and which are contained in these pages.
We are now witnessing the steady destruction of North Barnstaple.
The Ministerial Foreword to the NPPF starts with the words: “The purpose of planning is to help achieve sustainable development. Sustainable means ensuring that better lives for ourselves don’t mean worse lives for future generations.”
What will future generations make of the way that we allowed all this to happen?
|
Our comments on the Draft Local Plan
In August 2014, PRG and DefeND assembled comments on the Draft Local Plan and submitted them to North Devon Council and Torridge District Council.
Our comments can be found on this website. It is not clear what effect, if any, our comments have had on the Draft Local Plan. In March 2015, many changes were introduced into the Draft Local Plan.
The number of houses proposed for North Devon and Torridge has been further raised (without explanation). The figure for North Devon alone is now 8,768 dwellings. (Ref. change no. MAC/37, March 2015). |
