PLANNING permission in principle for a new home on a parcel of land south of Morchard Bishop has been refused.

Rejecting Neil Vogwill of Black Dog’s application for the 0.25-hectare field at Frost, Mid Devon District Council said that an “overriding essential need” to have a house there had “not been justified” given that it is outside of a defined settlement in its local plan (a blueprint for development) and in the open countryside.

Even though the council cannot show the government it has five years’ worth of land for new homes, known as a five-year land supply, it said “the proposed dwelling does not have reasonable access to services and facilities and would result in an unsustainable form of development that would increase the need for journeys to be made by private car”.

“The adverse impacts of the proposal are considered to demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework taken as a whole,” the council concluded.

The new home would have been accessed from a gate opposite Rixey Lane. No details of what the house would have looked like or how big it would have been were given, since planning permission was only requested in principle. For in-principle applications, another application is required later after initial permission is given to decide the design and other particulars.

Morchard Bishop Parish Council objected to the plans, as did four members of the public.

Writing to Mid Devon District Council, Julie Wheway said: “If we allow this, then sure any land is potentially up for grabs, with no consideration for wildlife, or local residents.

“Added to this is the lack of infrastructure – to install the relevant services would surely cause more upheaval, ruin the surrounding countryside and cause damage to a road that's already in an appalling state.

“The road is only a single lane and it's already busy, being a bus route and used by farm vehicles and cars from the local village.”

And Greg Anson said: “I have serious concerns about the impact the proposed development could have regarding the flooding of properties below the site and down Rixey Lane which is regularly subject to flooding due to existing inadequate drainage.

“The proposed development site is steeply graded and has the potential to increase local flooding issues.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

You can see the application on Mid Devon District Council’s website under reference 26/00300/PIP.