DESPITE the district council withdrawing and reviewing their vision for 16,000 new homes in East Devon plans up to 2015 plans for new homes continue unabated.

DESPITE the district council withdrawing and reviewing their vision for 16,000 new homes in East Devon plans up to 2015 plans for new homes continue unabated.

Now detailed plans for the first phase for the new community of Cranbrook have been submitted.

It follows the granting of permission for 67 new homes on the site of the former Hillcrest School in Exmouth.

The plans follow earlier granting of outline planning permission – planning permission ‘in principle’ but not in detail.

Last year a series of legal agreements that requires developers to provide money for community projects to compensate for the loss of amenity space – called section 106 agreements – were signed.

The plans for the first time show how some of the new homes might look.

The plans for the first 1,120 homes on the approved site off Honiton Road, Rockbeare, have been validated and are now available to view on the Council’s website.

District councillors hope to determine the March 8 and the 21-day period of consultation starts this week.

The vision for Cranbrook is to create a self-sufficient, low carbon new community close to skilled employment opportunities, encouraging people to use sustainable modes of transport and to reduce the need for them to travel between work and home by car.

EDDC Leader Sara Randall Johnson said: “A top priority is to ensure that the new community is sustainable, both in terms of reducing resource use and minimising carbon emissions.

“Our target is to deliver a high proportion of affordable housing across the whole development, assisted by funding from the Homes and Communities Agency, with an integrated mix of housing throughout the site. We also recognise the need for key social and community infrastructure to be available to the new residents as early in the development as possible.”