CREDITON Town Council hosted a presentation and discussion evening on Wednesday, September 18, exploring “The Truth about Devon’s Housing Needs”.

The guest speakers were Dr Phillip Bratby and Mrs Penny Mills from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE Devon).

They spent the first half of the evening presenting the findings of an independent study into Devon’s housing needs which explained how and why the government use outdated figures when calculating how many new homes are required each year.

Those that are built are often in the wrong place and far too few are genuinely affordable, the audience heard. The second half of the evening was a Question and Answer session lead by Crediton Mayor and Mid Devon District Council Planning Committee member Councillor Frank Letch.

As new housing developments are a major issue in many communities it was no surprise that among the 35 people present there were representatives from 11 different local Town/Parish/District Councils and numerous interested members of the public.

Thanks went to Crediton councillors Andi Wyer and Louise Martin for helping with the organisation of the event and providing refreshments.