OPPONENTS of a planned new housing development on the outskirts of Torquay have claimed it is in a dangerous location and fails to give Torbay the kind of homes it needs.

A public meeting has already been held to discuss plans for 110 homes on the site of the former Sladnor Park holiday camp at Maidencombe.

The site is currently derelict, and would-be developers the Pegasus Group say it gives them an opportunity to create one of the best places to live in Torbay.

But ward councillor George Darling (Lib Dem, St Marychurch) responded: “What is striking about this development is its isolation and complete absence of nearby amenity.

“These are supposedly family homes, yet for a parent and child to walk to their nearest primary school in Watcombe, they either must brave a 20-minute wander down the accident-hotspot A379 or take a two-hour round-trip along the coast path!”

He said bus services were few and far between, and there was no shop nearby to serve people living in the new homes.

From the 1970s until 1988 Sladnor Park was a busy holiday complex with a tennis court, bar, restaurant, ballroom and swimming pool. The main house was demolished after a fire in 1994.

It has been the subject of a number of planning applications since then, with proposals including a golf course and fishing lakes.

As recently as 2021 a proposal for a retirement community on the site was refused because of its landscape impact, inadequate drainage and lack of affordable housing.

The Pegasus Group application goes on: “Sladnor Park will be a highly desirable place to live for the 21st century and beyond. The aim is to achieve a development with a strong identity and distinct sense of place.”

But Cllr Darling said the proposed development would depend on residents using their cars.

“The only access would be the already-dangerous A379,” he said. “We have seen multiple crashes and a fatality within the last year on this road. Adding an extra 240 cars daily is a recipe for disaster.”

And, he said, with no social housing planned on the site there was no trade-off for the problems caused.

“What Torbay is desperate for is affordable and social rented housing, yet this large development provides none,” he added. “The developer suggests that these can be built elsewhere.

“This development is dangerous, fails to address Torbay’s need, and does not provide for the needs of residents who would eventually live there. It must be rejected.”

Among those attending the recent public meeting on the proposals was former Torbay Conservative MP Kevin Foster, who said it had been a useful chance to hear the strong arguments prepared by local residents.

“There are serious flaws in the plans being put forward,” he said. “They don’t make sense.

“It’s clear that this would be an over-development of the site. It doesn’t deal adequately with a number of issues and would set quite a precedent.”

All but one of the comments left on the Torbay Council website since the application was first published at the end of June is an objection. The Torbay Heritage Trust is among those opposed to the scheme.