NEWTON Abbot Town Council (NATC) has objected to a planning application to build homes on a part of Aller copse.
Application 24/01430/FUL for two dwellings on land adjacent to 25 Lower Fern Road went before the town council’s planning committee on October 8.
The committee, chaired by Cllr Mike Joyce, objected to the application ‘due to the negative impact the development will have on the on the ecology of the area and woodland’.
The government target date for Teignbridge District Council to make a decision on the application is on or before November 20.
Submitted to TDC on September 2 by Morris Architectural Design on behalf of Mr Stuart Lacey, the application has so far received close to 30 objections, with NATC being among the latest.
The majority of objections, like NATC, voice concerns about the potential environmental impact of any possible development.
An application for three dwellings was rejected back in 2007.
The planning, design and access statement states that the land in question is owned and maintained by a trust made up of local residents, though it does not name the trust.
It is thought to be the Aller Copse Trust, which bought the land years ago to preserve it and stop any prevent any form of development, the Mid-Devon Advertiser has been told.
Information about the trust is scant, but a document reportedly distributed to members and shown to the Mid-Devon Advertiser states that ‘the Trustees must not sell or otherwise dispose of the land without the consent of the Trust members’.
The document identifies three trustees and nine trust members.
‘Trustees will be appointed from within the membership to administer the land on behalf of and in the interests of the members of the Trust’ the document reads.
It would appear that those interests now favour a two dwelling development, rather than preserving the woodland.
The Mid-Devon Advertiser is keen to get in touch with anyone who has information about the Aller Copse Trust.
Please contact the news desk on 01626 353555 or send an email to [email protected]