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 three 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 trendy term for an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – I was furious!
EDDC have 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 will 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 (with or without a dog) across green fields you will be walking through a housing estate … and you can bet that any development in such an attractive spot will have little if any of the affordable housing that Honiton residents really need.
Share on Facebook
It would help my campaign if you would share this page on Facebook.
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!