AN APPLICATION to build nine new ‘affordable’ homes on 0.3 hectares of land at Reedy Lane in Dunsford has been submitted to Teignbridge District Council.

The application has been made by Summerfield Planning Limited, on behalf of Mr and Mrs Tripp.

The application is for ‘Permission in Principle’, an alternative way of obtaining planning permission in which the scope of the initial planning application is limited to location, land use and amount of development.

If successful, a second stage of the application will submit detailed development proposals for what the nine homes will actually look like.

The site sits just outside the National Park boundary, in a field directly connected to Dunsford village.

The field proposed sits on the edge of the village, at the corner between Fulford Road and Reedy Hill. All facilities in the village centre would be within 250m.

Although the land has not been specifically recommended for development in Teignbridge District Council’s 2013-2033 Local Plan, developers argue that the ‘Rural Exceptions’ policy of the local plan justifies its approval.

This policy states that affordable housing in rural settlements ‘to meet the needs of the community’ will be permitted under a variety of conditions.

The application argues that the need for nine homes was confirmed by an independent Housing Needs Survey

Although the specific plans for the homes are yet to be confirmed, the developers state that it ‘would not be considered to be generally out of character with the historic development.’