A PLANNING application for homes on a section of a Newton Abbot copse has sparked a raft of objections.

The application is seeking approval for two dwellings on land adjacent to 25 Lower Fern Road.

The land, which is a part of Aller Copse, is owned and managed by a trust made up of local residents.

The trust bought the land decades ago to ensure it would not be built on, the Mid-Devon Advertiser understands.

But it would appear the trust has had a change of heart.

Interestingly, the trust is not named in the planning, design and access statement for 24/01430/FUL, it is simply referred to as ‘a trust’.

One of the dwellings proposed will be a self-build project.

Teignbridge District Council (TDC) received the application from Morris Architectural Design on behalf of Mr Stuart Lacey on September 2.

The application has prompted a series of objections, the bulk of which highlight the need to protect the areas rich biodiversity.

A number of trees within the wooded area of the site are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) and thus cannot be felled, though none of these are located within the proposed development area, according to the planning, design and access statement.

However, several trees and hedges within the proposed development area are not protected and will have to be felled to make way for the development should it get approval.

A similar application for three dwellings on the site was rejected back in 2007.

Comments on 24/01430/FUL should be made by October 18.

The government target date for TDC to make a decision on the application is on or before November 20.