Draft Local Plan open to comment

Teignbridge District Council’s draft Local Plan is open for comment until noon on Monday March 13th. The plan details ‘how’ and ‘where’ proposed new housing and employment related development will take place in the district until 2040. It includes site allocations for housing, employment and wind turbines. The sites included are additional to those already allocated under the existing Local Plan.

This is the final version of the plan after several previous consultations. After the consultation closes there will be a public examination hearing held by an independent planning inspector.

If you wish to respond to the consultation it is advisable to watch the explanatory video. To read the whole plan, click on the Proposed Submission. For a shorter read, go to the Need To Know Guide. Note that when you are ready to respond, you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Start button.

You can comment on specific aspects of the plan, the whole plan, other consultation documents or supporting evidence. There are sections on climate change and the environment that lay out the proposed policies on these issues.

In brief

  • The plan allows for 4,560 new homes.
  • This is additional to the 7,969 already committed to in the existing Local Plan.
  • About 65 hectares are allocated for employment sites.
  • There are 10 sites for wind turbine development, which the plan says could generate 15% of the district’s electricity supply.
  • Quite a lot of land has been identified as potentially suitable for installing ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels.
  • Most of the homes will be built in or around Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton (37%) or on the edge of Exeter (46%).
  • Of the new employment sites 55% are allocated to Newton Abbot and 31% to Exeter.

Wildlife Warden Podcast Episode 5

Emily Marbaix is back with another podcast (which you can also read) in which she talks about her latest wild camping trip, orienteering training with Emma Cunis (aka Dartmoor’s Daughter), and notes that 68 wildlife wardens across 34 parishes and wards have received introductory training. There is also:

  • An update on the Wildlife Warden Scheme
  • An interview with Paul Martin of Ogwell-based Ogwild on the group’s experiences so far
  • Wildlife watching and outdoor ideas for the summer holidays
  • Information about Sustainable Bishops’s wildflower art competition, which will be on show on the 11th September
  • Information about Defra’s new campaign, Plant for our Planet
  • Information about the Teignbridge Local Plan Consultation

Local Plan consultation extended

Teignbridge District Council has extended the consultation period on its Local Plan, moving the closing date from 15th June to 13th July. The change has been made to give people more time to comment, given that face to face meetings are not currently possible.

ACT encourages everyone to submit a response. Feel free to use ACT’s draft response as a reference/template. Please continue to send ACT any comments or suggestions on the draft response as we will not submit it until early July.

The Local Plan and its associated documents can be viewed at: www.teignbridge.gov.uk/localplanreview.

The FAQ section of the documents explains that a Local Plan guides decisions on where and how development takes place. It contains a set of rules, called ‘policies’, which are used to guide decisions on applications for development. The Teignbridge Local Plan is in two parts, with Part 1 guiding decisions on HOW development takes place in Teignbridge, and Part 2 on WHERE developments take place. The consultation is on Part 1.

If you would like to comment on the Local Plan you can your comments by: