Further development around the edge of Honiton and Feniton has been proposed in the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan (GESP), for which a 'draft policies and site options' document has been produced.

It will provide the overall spatial strategy and level of housing and employment land required across East Devon in the period to 2040.

A minimum target of 2,663 homes per year, or 53,260 homes over the 20-year period of the plan, is required to be built - with the overall need for development sites equating to 63,912 homes.

The document takes forward a scenario of allocating the majority of the 18,500 new homes in the region near to public transport infrastructure corridors and hubs to maximise opportunities to encourage more sustainable forms of travel by giving the highest proportion of residents a choice of transport mode to the key service and job locations.

A total of 39 strategic site options are considered to have potential for allocation in the GESP, although following consultation to inform the final version of the GESP, not all sites will be taken forward for development.

Among the proposals in the GESP include relocating the J30 motorway services in Exeter and the J28 Cullompton services to a 'super service station' near Poltimore in order to unlock the land at both sites for development.

More than 1,000 homes could be built to the East of Honiton, with 540 homes in Axminster, 2,800 homes around Feniton, and 2,500 homes around Whimple also sites to be consulted on.

A comprehensive pedestrian and cycle network within identified towns, including in Newton Abbot, Cranbrook, Crediton, Cullompton, Dawlish, Exmouth, Honiton, Teignmouth, Tiverton and the GESP allocations, will come forward at a later date.

Each council will be holding meetings to ask councillors to agree to the 'draft policies and site options' document and that a public consultation should begin in September. East Devon will consider the proposals on 23 July.

Councillors will be asked to approve the document for consultation and will not at this stage be making any decisions over which sites are taking forward for development within the final GESP document.

HONITON EAST

DESCRIPTION:

72 hectares of agricultural land to the east of Honiton situated primarily on land rising towards and surrounded by the Blackdown Hills and East Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Site is sandwiched between the A35, Exeter - Waterloo railway line and the A30 and could see 1,100 homes built

PROS:

A large proportion of the site has been put forward by landowners for development or was promoted during the previous East Devon Local Plan process, and it is close to Honiton train station and both the A30 and A35.

Honiton Community College has some limited scope for expansion.

CONS:

The site is surrounded by the Blackdown Hills and East Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would be visible from both.

The existing rail infrastructure limits the frequency of train services in Honiton, while there is potential for the achievement of safe site access from the A35 Kings Road to cause detrimental impacts on traffic flow along the strategic road network, and potential severance issues caused by difficulty gaining safe pedestrian and cycle access across the A35 Kings Road.

FENITON

DESCRIPTION:

The sites consists of 352 hectares of predominantly agricultural land surrounding the village of Feniton, on both sides of the railway, and could accommodate 2,800 homes

PROS:

It is close to Feniton train station and the A30 while Feniton includes a number of essential services already which could be enhanced

CONS:

Parts of the site are affected by flooding while the topography could reduce capacity in some parts of the site.

Access from the A30 and across the railway insufficient for strategic scale development while the frequency of train and bus services in Feniton is poor and is some distance from Exeter.

Limited employment opportunities in close proximity and the local primary provision at/approaching capacity.