East Devon Local Plan
Things like Local Plans can sound a bit technical – or even boring – and hardly anyone ever reads them. Lets face it, East Devon District Council (EDDC) have been consulting on a draft Local Plan for the last four years and how many people were even aware of it outside of the councils?
A Local Plan is important because its like a rulebook or roadmap for how a town or area will grow and develop over the next 10–20 years.
What Does a Local Plan Do?
A Local Plan decides where new homes, shops, and schools can be built – you will see areas of land put into zones for Housing or Employment. It sets out rules for what kind of buildings are allowed and where and plans for things like roads, parks, and community facilities.
If done well, it can protect important green spaces and historic sites.
Once the Local Plan is agreed, there is little or no chance of preventing development in an area which is allocated to be built on.
Save our Footpaths!
When I saw that East Devon District Council had made some sneaky last minute changes to their Draft Local Plan to build in the “Blackdown Hills National Landscape” – the new term for an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – I was furious!
In spring of 2025, EDDC allocated open land near Honiton St Michael’s Church for 71 houses! When I spotted this, I started the ball rolling in the Town Council to formally object.
Building on this land would result in the loss of valuable green space and will build over a well-used public footpath – that’s FP10 for the footpath geeks. Instead of walking across green fields you would be walking through a housing estate … and you can bet that any development in such an attractive spot would have little or none of the affordable housing that Honiton residents really need.
A Small Victory
Fortunately these objections to the draft local plan helped change minds at EDDC. The latest draft local plan does not allocate this land for housing.
Thankfully, an attempt by local Conservative councillors to reallocate this valuable green space for housing failed. I will be keeping a close eye on any updates to the local plan to make sure it stays that way!
Independent Thinking
We need housing for Honiton residents, but of the right types and in the right places, and building on brownfield sites rather than our green fields and footpaths.
I live in Honiton, so appreciate our parks and surrounding green spaces as a valuable amenity for Honiton’s residents.
Let’s keep Honiton green and lovely for everyone – because nobody wants their favourite walking spot turned into a housing estate!
This page was updated on 20 July 2026 to include more recent progress on the local plan.