Developer stops work on NA3 site after protests

WORK on a massive housing scheme on the outskirts of Newton Abbot has stopped following a major public protest and an urgent intervention from Teignbridge Council.

- by GUY HENDERSON Local Democracy Reporter @DevonLiveNews

Developer Vistry Homes has downed tools on the ‘NA3’ site at Wolborough, where permission has been given for 1,200 homes.

At the end of April officers from Teignbridge District Council stepped in to halt the work amid claims that Vistry had gone beyond the limits of the permission granted.

Work had got under way on a large drainage pond, and campaigners said they feared the works would cause irreparable damage to nearby Wolborough Fen, an official Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

A national newspaper recently named the fen as one of 10 ‘jewels’ of English nature at risk from development. Protesters walked onto the site with placards to see the pond for themselves.