Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of City Development.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that delegated authority be granted to the Director of City Development, in consultation with the Council Leader and Portfolio Holder for City Development, to prepare and submit a response to the consultation on the proposed submission version of the Teignbridge Local Plan based on the issues raised in report presented at the meeting.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which set out the issues associated with the final consultation draft of the Teignbridge Local Plan in relation to cross-boundary implications for Exeter. Two particular areas of consideration which were close to the edge of the city were Attwells Farm near Exwick and Markham Village near Alphington.

Teignbridge District Council were working on the final draft of their plan, covering the period up to 2040 and were currently consulting on the final draft before it was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. This was the last opportunity for Exeter City Council to respond to the plan before its submission. A key component of the Teignbridge Plan was their proposed Development Strategy. A significant element of this was on accommodating housing requirements by looking at proposals close to existing facilities and settlements to reduce travel requirements and support Net Zero.

Specific locations for consultation were at Atwell’s Farm, Peamore and Markham Village, which were located on the edge of the city. During previous consultations, the City Council has previously supported the Peamore proposal, but had raised concerns about the proposals for Atwell’s Farm and Markham Village in relation to the impact on landscape, infrastructure, and transport.

Particular reference was made to the emerging Exeter Plan and the Development Strategy, which focused on accommodating the majority of developments on brownfield sites in order to minimise the need to travel, regenerating areas and protecting the landscape setting of the city. It was appropriate for the Council to consider these aims when thinking about the potential impact of developments close to, but outside of Exeter. A formal response to the consultation would be submitted based on the issues raised for Atwell’s Farm and Markham Village.

Councillor D. Moore, as an opposition group leader, spoke on this item. She raised the following points:-

·       It was right for the Council to reject the proposed sites at Markham village and Atwell’s Farm, which would not be sustainable and would be car led housing estates developments, and wasn’t focussed on creating sustainable communities. She supported the reason for rejecting the proposals but considered that the report should also highlight that the areas were important agricultural land.

·       The Peamore and West Exe sites made up 46% of the Teignbridge proposed sites. The Council needed to look closer at the areas, such as Peamore, which had been identified as having a high impact on the Exeter air quality management area. The area was remote from local services and facilities and would require substantial investment to create paths for walking, wheeling and cycling.

·       The Teignbridge documentation stated that the major roads surrounding the site currently provided natural barriers to the expansion of Exeter and breaching these would have landscape implications. New communities would look to the city for amenities but would feel out of reach due to the natural barriers and would become car led developments.

·       The £50 million grant referred to in the report was focussed primarily on new junctions and roads and the Council needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39