Ottery Town Council will decide whether to become involved in the Portas Pilot scheme at its next meeting. Read this and more.

PLANNING: Ottery Town Council chose not to support plans to construct a three-bedroom attached dwelling in Slade Close at Monday’s planning meeting. The committee cited concerns about overdevelopment of the site, traffic and access issues, and visual impact on the house behind. And the council also reiterated its previous objections to a proposal to build a house on land adjacent to White Lodge in West Hill.

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ZUMBA: At Ottery St Mary leisure centre there will be a Zumbathon to raise money for the Pink Ribbon Foundation. Organiser Karen Rugg wants to get 100 people to come along on Sunday, March 25, and make at least �500 for the breast cancer charity. For more information call 01404 814308.

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SHOPS: Ottery Town Council will decide whether to become involved in the Portas Pilot scheme at its meeting on Monday, March 5 at 7pm in the Old Convent. The council has been invited to become a Town Team to pilot ideas from the review by high-street expert Mary Portas into developing town centres.

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PLANNING: An application to build a single-storey extension on a property in Tipton will be decided on Tuesday by the district council. The plans at Chrystel Close are recommended for approval and were supported by Ottery Town Council. The Development Management committee will also decide on reserved matters such as access for a bungalow at Ashley Brake in West Hill. The outline application was accepted on an appeal

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CITIZEN OF THE YEAR: Voting closes for Ottery’s Citizen of the Year on March 23. Send the details of who you think should pick up the award and why, to Ottery Town Council. It is decided entirely on the public vote, so every entry counts, and the winner will be announced at the council’s Annual Parish Meeting in April. For more information call 01404 812252.