Protect Agricultural Land from Unchecked Urban Expansion and Pedestrians from an Unsafe Footpath
Please support our campaign in continued opposition to a development of 63 houses on farmland to the south of Ottery St Mary. It not only threatens to encroach upon grade 2 agricultural land but also poses significant road safety risks for pedestrians using a proposed substandard footpath along the Sidmouth Road.
What’s happening?
With almost 500 letters of objection from Ottery residents to the most recent application, East Devon District Council have continued to refuse planning permission for a development of 63 houses on agricultural land east of Sidmouth Road.
The land owner consortium have now appealed against this decision. The Gerway Action Group will continue to fight this ill conceived proposal with the support of the community.
How can you help?
Our main requirement is for financial support, to contribute towards the substantial professional fees and consultants costs required to adequately challenge the appeal. Please visit our GoFundMe site to pledge your financial support.
Yes, there is always an argument for new houses
but not anywhere and not at any cost!
We are mindful of the national requirement for affordable housing, however Ottery has seen unprecedented growth of the last 10 years with no improvement in supporting infrastructure.
To add more housing on a greenfield site of grade 2 agricultural land on the least accessible side of Ottery can only be opportunist financial speculation, especially having been rejected 3 times now.
This site falls outside of the Built-up Area Boundary of Ottery St. Mary and has already been rejected for strategic allocation within the current East Devon Local Plan 2013- 2031 and the Emerging Local Plan 2020-2040.
The only reason this application was being considered again, was due to a planning law irregularity. East Devon District Council was not being able to show a 5 year Housing Land Supply – but this is no longer a valid reason.
Road safety is at the forefront of our minds. There is no justification for the unacceptable alterations to the Sidmouth Road in a vain attempt justify an inappropriate and unsustainable housing development.
A long history of refusals of planning permission for this site is testament enough to its lack of merit.
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The road is exceptionally narrow in places and not suitable for a pedestrian way.
— Cllr Vicky Johns
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The proposed development will significantly compromise pedestrian safety.
— Cllr Jess Bailey