CONTROVERSIAL plans for new houses in Tipton St John were strongly opposed by Ottery Town Council at a busy planning meeting on Tuesday.

Members met at Tipton community hall where they voted unanimously not to support an application from Devonshire Homes Ltd for up to 19 new homes on land south of Otter Close.

The developer has applied for planning three times in the last three years, each time reducing the number of houses on the application.

But councillors, and members of the public who attended, said it was not just the size of the development that was a problem.

Councillor John Harding said he was concerned about access from the field on to the main road and the number of extra cars that would be brought to the village.

He said: “That junction is a disaster waiting to happen and if these houses are built everybody who lives there will have to take a car to where they work – there aren’t jobs here.”

A successful application would see the closure of the sunken lane that runs alongside Sidmouth Road and the construction of a footpath in its place.

Councillor Ian Holmes said he would not be supporting the application based on that alone.

“The access is terrible and if we lose the sunken lane we will be losing a part of our history,” he said.

Councillor Martin Thurgood summed up the general mood of the meeting when he said he failed to see how such a development would be sustainable.

He said: “There are not sufficient public services such as schools to support this type of development.

“South West Water has advised that the current drainage system in the village is not capable of coping with more houses, and there are issues with access and traffic.”

“This is just another speculative application by a developer - it is not plan led and the housing is not needed,” he added.

The final say on the application will be made by East Devon District Council.