Property Press Online

There have been disputes regarding the use of roads within a Persimmon estate in New Abbot, Devon.

As of the 11^th of November, bollards for the new Newton Abbot housing estate will ne implemented. These bollards will block access to Larkspur drive to and from Mile End road.

The junction itself is seen as unsafe due to a garden wall from another property obstructing drivers’ vision. Persimmon have been asked to make revised plans to improve the traffic situations between other junctions across the estate. However, some plans such as the approved ones for the Ashburton Road/Applegarth Avenue were never implemented henceforth the planning permission lapsed.

One of the longest running sagas between the Local Government Ombudsman and Persimmon Homes is the use of Larkspur Drive as an access road. The local Government Ombudsman ordered Teignbridge District Council to apologise to a local member of the public due to last years frustration. Also, due to the inconvenience caused, the council compensated the person with £300.

In 2010, the agreed planning permission for Hele Park estate stated that once completed, there would be an access road only for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles, to Larkspur Drive.

2011 saw Persimmon ask for access to be retained and in 2012, this permission was granted. However, this permission could only be granted if traffic improved between Ashburton Road and Applegarth Avenue.  Over time, this didn’t improve, so the planning permission lapsed three years’ later.

Larkspur Dive in Newton Abbot

Mid-way through 2015, Teignbridge council contacted Persimmon about the use of the road and how it should be used. Although, developer did not respond.

April 2016 saw the council chase the developer for a response. The council also advised that if they didn’t receive a response, they would be seeking authorisation over the issue. Even though the council warned the developer, it wasn’t until September 2017 until the council updated the developer.

By November 2017, the council agreed that the best course of action should be enforcement. But a new application had been submitted regarding the access and this had to be retained.

The new application was then refused in July 2018 by Teignbridge council. Persimmon then followed with an appeal against the refusal. However, the planning inspector dismissed this again in October 2019. The planning inspector then ordered Persimmon to close the vehicle access with bollards and create an emergency access route only.

What happens now?

Devon County Council states that all estates with over 300 homes must have at least two exits.

The route will be closed in the coming weeks, this means over 400 homes will only have one exit out of the estate. This is added to the pressure of Redrow opening a building site close to the Persimmon estate.

Another option is for Persimmon to generate an approved proposal to make the Larkspur Drive junction safer for road users.

There has been a lot of opinions to come from the new development, and residents are mixed. Some believe the Larkspur Drive should be closed; however, these are residents that live close to the junction. The others, are more so concerned about there only being one exit.