Barnstaple homes plan approved amid fears it will add to traffic gridlock

A scheme for 450 homes on the outskirts of Barnstaple has been approved despite major concerns over a lack of investment in highways.

Members of North Devon Council’s planning committee took nearly three hours to reach a decision on the plan by Wessex Strategic Ltd for land off the A39 at Brynsworthy, which fails to include a much longed for roundabout to ease traffic in the A39/Old Bideford Road area.

The proposal was refused by the committee two years ago for being outside the development boundary, lack of connection to services and infrastructure issues.

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But councillors were told if they refused it this time, they were likely to lose if it was taken to appeal given the council’s shortfall in housing land and new targets to build 1,300 houses a year.

The revised plan also included retail and community space and new cycling and walking routes to link the site to schools and services at Roundswell and onto Barnstaple, 30% of affordable homes and a signalised junction.

Applicants said a lot of work and discussion had taken place between planning and highways officers to come up with a scheme that was now considered acceptable.

Roundswell councillor David Knight, speaking up for residents, said traffic was now approaching a point where it was “like a car park forming a ring around Roundswell.”

“It is having immeasurable consequences on people’s lives,” he said, adding that proposed junction would “have no impact”. He said people would be stuck in Old Bideford Road trying to get out.

He added: “I have grave concerns about the cumulative effect of traffic on that area, will those residents even be able to leave.”

Despite improvements proposed in active travel, Cllr Knight said it would be an hour around trip to walk to the nearest school and many parents did not have that sort of time.

He said he was “appalled” that Devon County Council could spend many millions of pounds on road schemes in Devon such as the South and North Devon link roads but there was “nothing” for the local transport network.

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Cllr Caroline Leaver said despite a new roundabout on the A39 at the western end of Roundswell with an associated link to Old Bideford Road being part of the local transport infrastructure plan it appeared now as if there was “no intention to deliver it.”

She said: “There appears to be no money to deliver the links onto the A39, this is a massive concern to the people who live to the west of Barnstaple.”

Her amendment for the application to be deferred to consider how the scheme fitted into the wider transport network was lost.

Officers said they appreciated the need for wider master-planning but said they had to consider the application on the table and improvements had been made to the original plan.

They added that the opinion was that the existing highway network was able to cope with the additional traffic from this development.