Devonshire Homes wins mixed use property development appeal in Devon5th November 2013

South West property developer Devonshire Homes has won a significant appeal to build a mixed use development in Bampton, Devon,  featuring less commercial units than originally allocated by the local authority.

Steve Russell, Managing Director at Devonshire Homes believes that the industry will start to see more cases like these where land originally allocated for commercial usage is released for residential development.

The land in Bampton received planning permission from Mid Devon and District Council (MDDC) in 2005 to build three 2,500 sq ft commercial units alongside 42 residential homes, following an earlier grant of outline planning permission for a mixed use scheme. The development was completed in 2009, with an area left vacant for further commercial development, subject to the success of the original three commercial units.

Revised plans submitted by Devonshire Homes in 2012 for a mixed use development of 18 new homes and six starter business units were deemed not to fulfil the MDDC’s employment land quota for the town. The council’s decision was appealed by Devonshire Homes and a public inquiry was held on 3 and 4 September 2013. The inspector upheld the appeal and granted planning permission for the scheme, together with an award of costs.

Steve Russell said: “We are obviously delighted that the appeal inspector has granted planning permission. It makes sense that planning decisions granted eight years ago will need to be adjusted to reflect today’s demand. Wholly commercial developments like these are just not viable if the emphasis is on delivering employment space when we are not experiencing any great demand from the market.

“This is a long-standing problem that can be seen across the whole country and is extremely frustrating when there is land sitting empty and house-builders are under demand to meet the housing shortage.”

“The national planning policy framework encourages local authorities not to leave land for uses that are unlikely to be realised. There is definitely a tide of change starting to emerge, which has the potential to kick-start stalled projects throughout the country, delivering much needed homes and energising the house-building market.”