Paignton green field homes plan set for go-ahead

Planners deciding the future of a controversial housing scheme on the outskirts of Paignton have been warned that it could create a ‘significant safety risk’.

Developer Cavanna Homes returns to the Torbay Council planning committee next week (November 10) with details of the 100 homes it plans to build on green fields at Collaton St Mary.
The company already has outline permission to build, dating back to 2019, but concerns were raised back then over traffic getting in and out of the site, which joins the main A385 Paignton to Totnes road.
All 39 of the public comments posted on the council’s planning portals are objections.
One says: “The junction sits just beneath the brow of a hill where visibility is very poor and motorists regularly travel at or in excess of the speed limit. It is a danger at the best of times, with a fatality occurring there in 2019.
“To allow this junction to serve as Cavanna’s site access is negligent.”
However, planning officers point out that as the latest application is for the details of the design, the safety of the access to the site is not relevant. Only layout, scale, appearance and landscaping are relevant at this stage.
The homes, if permitted, will be up to three storeys high. There will be 30 units of ‘affordable’ housing.
An officers’ report to the committee says: “The proposal is considered acceptable in principle. There are demonstrable public benefits that weigh in favour of the scheme, notably housing provision, including 30 affordable units, a formal equipped child’s play area, orchards, allotments and public access to informal green space.
“There are no impacts on protected areas or assets of particular importance to provide a clear reasoning for refusal.”