An appeal has been lodged against the refusal of planning permission for a major housing development in Ottery St Mary.

Last October East Devon District Council turned down the application to build 63 homes on a site off Sidmouth Road. 

The proposal had attracted nearly 500 objections and was strongly opposed by Ottery St Mary Town Council. There were serious concerns about road safety along the access route to the site because of the narrow carriageway and equally narrow pedestrian footpath. The applicants put forward a traffic priority system, but many people thought this would make matters worse, not better.

East Devon District Council's planning committee turned down the application on the grounds they felt would best stand up to a challenge: the ‘overwhelming impact on the local site and surrounding area’, the loss of good quality agricultural land, and the lack of a process to secure the provision of affordable housing and public open space, proposed by the developer.

However, the applicant, ALD Developments, has now made an appeal to the Secretary of State against the refusal of planning permission.

The appeal will be determined on the basis of written representations. Stakeholders including the town council, local district and county councillors, neighbours and organisations that were consulted on the planning application have been notified of the appeal, and given until May 15 to submit their views.

The MP for East Devon, Simon Jupp, has already made a formal written representation, reiterating the reasons for the planning refusal and urging the Planning Inspectorate to dismiss the appeal.

A group of local residents, the Gerway Action Group, has launched a crowdfunder on GoFundMe to raise money for professional advice and consultancy to help fight the appeal. The group says: "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 five-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."