BlackawtonPLANNING WATCH

The new development / Acorn and the planning authority

Questions for Acorn.

How would the proposed new homes affect drainage, roads, bus access and neighbouring properties? These questions ask Acorn and the planning authority for the evidence and safeguards needed to assess those additional and cumulative impacts.

The existing French Furze remedy is followed up through the quarterly Vistry and French Furze meetings at the Village Hall. Its scope and timetable are background to assessing Acorn’s new development here.

The resident’s 7 October account states that the remedy excludes future development of the uphill field, still awaits section 73 approval, and has June 2027 as a best-case timing for works. That is not a firm start or completion date. Read the attributed account and its limits.

These are requests for evidence about the new proposal. Its application reference and final plans have not been verified here.

  1. The proposal

    What exactly is proposed, and where?

    Acorn: please publish the new development’s site boundary, proposed number of homes, access points, building heights and existing and proposed ground levels. Identify the applicant and any planning or pre-application reference so residents can follow the correct case.

    Why the existing permission must be kept separate

  2. The proposal

    What is the formal status and consultation timetable?

    Is this an early presentation, a pre-application discussion or a submitted application? Please identify which drawings are provisional, when the full documents will be public, and where the council will publish the response deadline.

    Public consultation guidance

  3. Water and drainage

    How would Acorn’s scheme work if the remedy is delayed?

    Please assess the new development while Vistry’s remedy is awaiting approval, delayed or not fully operational. Identify any dependency on those works and the measures needed to prevent additional risk during construction or occupation. The planning authority should explain how necessary infrastructure and capacity would be verified before new connections or homes are occupied.

    Resident’s 7 October account of the remedy’s scope and timetable

  4. Water and drainage

    What additional capacity does Acorn’s development require?

    The resident’s account states that Vistry’s remedial design excludes future development of the uphill field. Acorn should therefore publish its own assessment of the extra demand. Compare the present system, the completed remedy without new development, and the remedy with Acorn’s homes and other committed growth. Separate foul sewage, runoff from new roofs and roads, and existing farmland runoff; show every connection, outfall and additional work required.

    The reported exclusion of future development from Vistry’s design

  5. Water and drainage

    What evidence demonstrates capacity across the whole system?

    Please provide current sewer-network and treatment-capacity evidence for Acorn’s additional flows, including downstream constraints and written responses from the relevant authorities. Quantify the remaining capacity after cumulative demand and explain who will fund, deliver and verify any necessary upgrades before the additional load is connected.

    Local requirements for wastewater and infrastructure

  6. Water and drainage

    How does the design handle heavy rain and runoff from higher ground?

    Please publish the ground investigations, infiltration and groundwater evidence, design rainfall and climate allowances. Show where water travels if the system exceeds its design capacity, including routes towards existing homes and the village.

    Devon sustainable drainage guidance

  7. Water and drainage

    How have previous flood incidents informed the assessment?

    Please explain which dated flood accounts, rainfall records and site inspections Acorn has used in assessing the new development. Distinguish surface-water flooding from sewer surcharge, and show how the proposal avoids increasing risk to existing homes and the downstream village.

    Devon’s investigation of the October 2021 floods

  8. Water and drainage

    Who will maintain drainage serving the new homes?

    For Acorn’s proposed drainage and any shared infrastructure it would rely on, please name the responsible bodies, adoption arrangements, inspection schedule and funding mechanism. Explain who will respond to a failure during construction, before adoption and over the new development’s lifetime.

    National sustainable drainage standards

  9. Roads and access

    What do current traffic and safety surveys show?

    Please identify Acorn’s expected approach routes and provide recent vehicle counts, speed and collision evidence, road widths and junction assessments. Compare conditions without and with the new homes, including school periods, pedestrians, cycles, deliveries and cumulative traffic from other committed development.

    Local transport policy DEV29

  10. Roads and access

    Can residents safely make the whole journey to and from the bus?

    Please identify the actual stops and current services Acorn’s transport assessment relies on, distinguishing Forces Cross from Woodlands Leisure Park. Assess both the outward and return walking routes from the proposed homes: distance, gradients, footway gaps, bends, passing space, A3122 crossings and waiting areas. Show how children, older people and people with limited mobility would use those routes, including after dark, and how any necessary improvements would be secured.

    Why stop locations alone do not establish safe bus access

  11. Roads and access

    How would construction traffic be managed?

    Please show Acorn’s proposed construction route, delivery hours, vehicle sizes, passing and turning arrangements, wheel cleaning and a contact for problems. Assess the effect on the school, pedestrians and other road users, including any overlap with French Furze remedial works.

    The original permission’s construction-management condition

  12. Roads and access

    What does the historic northern road connection allow?

    If the original road layout is relied on for further development, please provide the approved plans and legal access or adoption arrangements. Explain how current safety and capacity would be assessed for this proposal, including any changed traffic assumptions since 2014.

    Devon’s 2014 request for a possible northern connection

  13. Neighbours and delivery

    How will the design protect neighbouring homes?

    Please provide scaled sections through the site and neighbouring properties, showing ground levels, floor and ridge heights, windows and boundaries. Use them to assess privacy, outlook, daylight, sunlight, lighting and noise, including the effects of homes on higher land.

    Local health and amenity policy DEV1

  14. Neighbours and delivery

    How would commitments be secured and checked?

    Acorn and the planning authority should identify the drawing, condition or legal agreement that would secure each safeguard for this new development, who would verify delivery, and the trigger for doing the work. Please publish the presentation, written answers and follow-up dates so residents can check the commitments.

    Guidance on consultation before a planning decision

When making a planning response

Describe the specific impact, its location and the evidence supporting it. Privacy, drainage, road safety and other relevant planning effects can be assessed against the proposal and policy. A change in property value is generally not a material planning consideration.

Read the government’s guidance