New housing in Lydford
Consultation on development in Lydford
The March 2010 edition of the Lydford Parish Magazine included a statement that the parish council had been contacted by a landowner in the village who was considering making a planning application to develop their land for housing. It went on to say that the landowner would like the parish's comments on the type of housing, should the proposal proceed. This was followed by a statement in the April parish magazine that said the landowner had requested a meeting with the parish council. If the Land Registry records are accurate the "landowner in the village" does not live in the village at all but in Okehampton.
Neither of the items in the parish magazine made it clear that the proposed development is to be on the school field, although this is mentioned in the parish council minutes for February 2010. The contact seems to have been with a representative of a firm of surveyors based in Exeter. The draft February minutes record that the then council Chair is a personal friend of this representative although this was later amended to indicate that she knows him.
The minutes also go on to say that the parish council would not support any development until a planning application is submitted and public consultation has been carried out. Note the order as this is important. If the public get a chance to comment only after a planning application for a housing development has been submitted then surely this is too late to to have any real influence on the size and type of development or indeed on any other development that may come along in the future?
Of course the Parish Plan would have been an ideal vehicle for the ordinary folk of Lydford to express their opinion over future development. Or it would have been if the questionnaire had contained questions on housing need and future development and had the whole project not been so completely mismanaged. See section on "Parish Plan" for details.
To get back to the matter of contact between developer and parish council, the outcome was that six councillors would attend a meeting with a representative of the developer. One might recall a former Chair's statement that "Individual councillors cannot respond on council matters" in reply to a request for a meeting from a parishioner see sections Misinformation and Unanswered questions. It seems that this does not apply to requests from property developers known to the former Chair.
Return to top of pageLack of information
Housing development was mentioned in the September 2008 minutes of the parish council, where it was described as a mixture of affordable and private housing. Shortly after this the council rushed through a deeply flawed consultation on the proposed new sewage works. At their November 2008 meeting they passed a resolution supporting a new sewage treatment works in Lydford (see Lydford sewage works for the full story).
From early 2010, when we know councillors met with the developer, until November 2011 there was no more information made available to the public. Certainly parish council minutes (up to and including September 2011) have made no mention of the development. Openness is, of course, one of the seven principles of public life* so this reluctance to share information with the ordinary parishioners of Lydford is really sad. However it will not surprise anyone familiar with the workings of this parish council.
*See the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Return to top of pageA Housing Needs Study?
The November 2010 "Correspondence Summary", a document that accompanies the Agenda for Lydford Parish Council meetings, contains a reference to a "Request for Housing Needs Study". The council section of the December 2010 parish magazine mentions this but refers to it as a "housing needs survey" and states that further information is being sought.
It was not clear if this would be an opportunity for ordinary Lydford residents to express an opinion or not. It was not clear just who would be carrying out the study or if the results were to be made public.
Return to top of pageA planning application
Quite what happened to the housing needs survey is not known. What we do know is that a planning application for development on the school field went to Dartmoor National Park Authority in October 2011. At the time of writing the application can be inspected by going to the DNPA web site , accepting the conditions and then from the text search page entering 0552/11
The application is for a dwelling and a garden on the field used by Lydford school as a playing field. There is also provision for a new playing field to be constructed on land behind the school i.e. to the south of the school on what is said to be a paddock. The new playing field is good news for anyone concerned about the future of the school.
The dwelling seems to be for a 4-bedroom family house and judging by the plans it should provide a very nice home and garden for someone. Does not really look like affordable housing though so it is not likely to do much to help young people or those ordinary folk looking to get on the housing ladder for the first time. What happened to the idea of affordable housing?
Although the application is for a single dwelling the plans refer to "Plot 1" Indeed the "Design and Access Statement" submitted with the application makes clear that in July 2011 a scheme was put to Dartmoor National Park Authority for 4 dwellings not just one. one wonders if this was the scheme that had been discussed with Lydford Parish Council back in early 2010. It is not possible to say but if so then that may well explain the secrecy that surrounded that meeting
Return to top of pageApplication withdrawn
On 9th December 2011 DNPA received a letter from architects confirming that their client had decided to withdraw planning application 0552/11. It seems that 12 objections had been received from members of the public. One of these 12 appears to be from a serving councillor. There was also a letter of objection from a former councillor, one of those who had an opportunity to meet with the developer in early 2010, but this letter was actually sent after the end of the consultation period. There was also a "general comment" from a member of the public.
Interestingly the parish council's response to the consultation was not sent until 23rd November 2011. The consultation period ended on 25th November. Why it took so long for the parish council is not known but clearly they had ample opportunity to see which way the wind was blowing. Reading a copy of their objection (in .PDF format) one wonders how that compares with what was said to the developer in early 2010. Whilst the parish council's claim of overwhelming local feeling against the development may be correct one wonders how they can know that as they have not asked the wider community of Lydford (see mention of parish plan above).
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