Exclusive by Sue Read

ALMOST 100 people met to talk about a plan to build 54 homes on the edge of Crediton - a plan that generated passion and anger at the meeting.

It had been called because people living in the Willow Walk and Cromwells Meadow area said they had not been aware of the planning application from Persimmon Homes that had been lodged with Mid Devon District Council.

Persimmon proposed for 35 of the 54 homes to be available on the open market with 19 to be offered as affordable.

Twenty-one of the former would be three bedroomed houses, eight would have two bedrooms, and there would be six houses with four bedrooms.

Of the affordable units, most would be two bedrooms with six three bedroomed houses.

The Persimmon statement said: "The vision for the development is to utilise the site’s strength to build an attractive residential development within the existing landscape and deliver a mix of house-types to reflect the local need and provision.

"This is balanced against the need to retain the floodplain element to the east and to leave this unencumbered by any form of development which would detrimentally impact upon its purpose."

The application was for land bounded by Willow Walk and Cromwells Meadow, running alongside the footpath beside the playing field at Lords Meadow.

However, flooding was a major concern for people at the meeting held in Crediton AFC Clubhouse on Lords Meadow on Monday evening.

There were photographs showing lower areas of the fields flooded and a nearby footbridge over a stream almost washed away.

Some people spoke of problems with sewerage, that the pumping station was supposed to have been updated, that drains on Cromwells Meadow could not always cope with the amount of water and that sewerage had overflowed into some gardens.

It was said the flooding was no longer every 10 years or even every five years but every year and that there had been times when Crediton had been cut off by floods, with the fields below the site flooded.

One observation was that the bypass had not been built because of flooding along that section.

Among those present were Mid Devon District Council members Frank Letch and John Downes, both also members of Crediton Town Council with Andi Wyer, also a member of Crediton Town Council.

John Downes explained that the site was allocated in the Mid Devon District Council Local Plan for 35 homes and had recognised that part of the land was in the flood plain.

Some people were asking why they had only just found out about the planning application, why were the planning application notices not put up initially on Willow Walk?

As for the district council’s Local Plan, they were told there had been public exhibitions of proposals which included this site, but that many people saw it as a boring subject, did not always realise how important this was and how it could affect them later and that they could press their views then.

The deadline for comments on this application is July 19. It will be on the agenda for Crediton Town Council’s meeting on Tuesday.

It was explained that although at present listed as for a district council officer decision, the plan could be "called in" which would mean it would be discussed by the district council planning committee which would meet at a later date, potentially giving more time for receipt of comments.

There was also concern about the number of vehicles that would be using Willow Walk and Bramble Lane, that traffic had been bad enough while Cromwells Meadow was being built.

It was also said that, because members of the planning committee were from various parts of the district, it was possible the committee might decide to have a site visit.

Full details of the application and the site can be found on the Mid Devon District Council website (www.middevon.gov.uk) and type Cromwells in the search box.

Cheryl Phillips of Cromwells Meadow, told the “Courier”: "The high number of local residents in attendance at the meeting was testament to the strong feelings of opposition to the proposed development.

“It is apparent that Persimmon homes are not looking to engage with us, so the meeting was arranged to discuss key issues and share local knowledge, as we come together to agree our plans going forward.

“Flood, traffic, and sewerage are of major concern to everyone living locally.  We shall be meeting with the Planning Officer next Friday and making our representation at the Town Council meeting next Tuesday. Our local District Councillors are aware that we are strictly opposed to this development."