PLANS to demolish nine garages and build two council houses off Sunnymead in Copplestone have been withdrawn after a barrage of objections.

Mid Devon District Council had wanted to knock down the former garages, which are “small” and in “poor condition”, and have a pair of three-bedroom detached homes it would make available for social rent.

Each house would have had a “substantial” garden and parking space for two cars. They would have had painted render and cement board cladding walls, concrete interlocking tile roofs and UPVC windows and doors.

The existing vehicle access off Sunnymead would have been used. The area of open green space to the southeast with the war memorial would have been left alone.

But the district council decided to withdraw the plans “due to a few factors arising during the planning stage” which made the project “non-viable”.

The local authority did not specify what those factors were, but South West Water said there was a public sewer running through the site and there should be no development within three metres of it.

The district council’s tree officer also raised concerns about whether the roots of nearby trees would be affected and whether there would be enough space between two large trees and one of the proposed houses. They raised a “holding objection” and asked for more information.

A dozen local people wrote to Mid Devon District Council condemning the plans, and Copplestone Parish Council objected “in the strongest possible terms”.

“The depth of local opposition to this proposal was clearly demonstrated at the parish council meeting held on June 1 and has since been reinforced through further consultation and discussions undertaken by parish councillors with local residents,” said a spokesperson for Copplestone Parish Council.

“The failure to consult garage owners, coupled with the absence of transparency regarding demand for garage units, fundamentally undermines the credibility and robustness of the proposal.”

The spokesperson added that the site currently functions as an “informal parking area for parents dropping off and collecting children from the local school”, the area lies “adjacent to the war memorial, a place of tranquillity, remembrance and quiet reflection”, and that a public right of way from Sunnymead to the estate behind is used by children as a “safer means of walking to school”.

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 26/00662/FULL.