Village social housing plans rejected due to rare medieval field system

Planners have reluctantly said no to a scheme of nine properties for social rent in a holiday hotspot in North Devon where local people struggle to afford or find a home.

They rejected the plans by Braunton Community Land Trust (CLT) because the site forms part of Braunton Great Field, one of only three surviving medieval open field systems in England still in use and considered a ‘jewel in the crown’ of the district.

The plans for Broadlands Farm were opposed by heritage experts and recommended for refusal by planning officers, but supported by local residents, parish councils and countryside charity CPRE.

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Members of North Devon Council’s planning committee said they understood the desperate need for homes – there are 83 households in Braunton on the housing register – but this had to be balanced against the site being one of national importance.

Above: A view of the Braunton Great Field. Credit: North Devon Council/Google

The Braunton group said there were no other suitable sites in the village for development, but planning officers felt not enough evidence of this had been provided.

The CLT argued that this parcel of land was not part of the great field as it was enclosed by hedges.

They said the affordable houses would make a huge difference to the area as they would always be owned by the CLT and available for local families and could never be sold on the open market.

Above: The red markings show where the proposed nine homes would have sat within the Braunton Great Field. Credit: North Devon Council/Google

Opponents made reference to the village being full of holiday lets and second homes, a place where it was increasingly hard to get on the housing ladder.

The area is considered ‘highly desirable’ and a home in nearby Saunton fetched £5million last year, the most expensive house sold in Devon, according to the Land Registry.

A CPRE study last year said that at the current rate of social house building in the country, some rural communities would be waiting more than 90 years to house everyone who was presently on the register.

Lead member for housing on North Devon Council, Councillor Graham Bell, who represents Braunton East) said this ‘vital community land trust’, a not for profit organisation set up to acquire land and develop permanently affordable housing, had ‘worked tirelessly’ to find land to build houses in Braunton but added: “The geography of Braunton means there is limited building potential.”

He argued that this corner plot was just a plain field that served ‘no significant purpose’ as over 200 years ago the hedgerows had grown up and encased it.

“It’s more important we use it to provide the people of Braunton with houses,” he said. His comments were echoed by parish councillors and fellow North Devon councillor Pru Maskell, Braunton West and Georgeham ward member.

CLT members said they recognised the importance of the great field and its setting but it would not be impacted by the ‘small scale, sensitive development’. They argued a large housing estate adjacent to it had greater impact.

They disputed that it would be in conflict with the farm operation next door and said their application adhered to the Braunton neighbourhood plan and was in a sustainable location close to schools, shops and other local services.

Councillors were told that only five social houses had been built in Braunton in four years.

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Cllr Mark Haworth-Booth said there were ‘heartrending reasons’ for it to go ahead but they had to say no ‘with great regret’.

Another councillor said a bypass earmarked for the area was not built in the 90s because it would have to cut across the great field: “We have to be careful about allowing encroachment on part of an historic site,” they said.

Steve Reed, senior historic environment officer at Devon County Council said the great field was not just the open field but the enclosures around it. These type of open field systems were “rarer than roman villas, prehistoric henge sites and burial mounds,” he said.

“In this situation great weight needs to be given to its conservation and preservation,” he added.

The open strip field system at Braunton stretches across 350 acres or 200 football pitches and is believed to date back to 1200

According to the North Devon Coast National Landscape, this huge field, farmed in narrow strips, was reportedly divided into 600 strips in 1840 for 60 different land workers who supported their families from the land. Such fields were the norm in medieval England. Today the land is farmed by a small number of landowners.

The application was refused by nine votes to one.

Councillors said the planning department would continue to discuss possible other sites for development with the CLT.