FURIOUS residents packed a public meeting to lambast a planned new housing estate on a scenic hillside overlooking Teignmouth and the coast.

They urged Teignbridge Council to look again and reduce an application by developers Hallbaron to build up to 255 homes on fields alongside the Higher Exeter Road.

The scheme, which could swell the population by up to 1,000 and put hundreds more cars on already overcrowded roads, was given outline permission in 2014 despite protests, and the company is now seeking detailed consent for the layout of the site.

About 100 people packed into Bitton House last week for a public meeting organised by the town council, and speaker after speaker stood up to condemn the development.

Councillors were urged to ensure that the decision on the detailed application is considered by the full development control committee, and not by an individual officer, which is the current intention.

They were also asked to try and persuade other Teignbridge councillors to press for amendments to the plan.

There was still some bitterness at the way the original permission was granted at the 2014 planning meeting, when emotions ran high and objectors ‘were threatened three times with eviction’ from the council chamber.

The county highway authority is to be asked to look again at the potential traffic problems that could arise.

It was also suggested that the whole application should be reconsidered because it was more than three years since permission was originally granted, and the scheme had changed.

One speaker claimed that the problems with the development had never been properly addressed by Teignbridge in the haste to receive ‘between three and four million pounds’ from the Government’s new homes bonus scheme.

Roger Lea, one of the main opponents of the scheme, described the scheme as high density overdevelopment.

It would ‘lay waste’ to the policy of protecting and maintaining the character of the town.

It ‘beggared belief’ there was only one access for the estimated 600 plus vehicles a day leaving and entering the estate via Higher Exeter Road. It could not be in a worse place, on a convex bend and 500 metres from Hazeldown School.

Devon County Council had taken no notice of local knowledge concerning traffic flow, congestion and speed. Their data was years out of date.

‘There is no improvement in any infrastructure associated with this development. The highway authority says there is no scope for road improvements in Teignmouth.

‘With Hazeldown school full, children will have to be taken through the town, adding to the traffic chaos.

‘Parking in Teignmouth is totally inadequate. Where are all the new residents going to park?

‘With the contraction of service at our local hospital, and the difficulty of getting an appointment with a doctor or dentist, the addition of an extra 600 plus residents is going to bring essential services to breaking point.

‘We have already had the New Horizons and Marine Drive developments, and the stark truth is that Teignmouth just cannot cope with another estate of this size. Traffic chaos will impact badly on town centre businesses.’

Mr Lea accepted there would be some development on the site, and now it was at the detailed stage it was time for Teignbridge to focus on the major problems it would bring.

Peter Williams and others feared the loss of the ‘iconic view’ down across Teignmouth from the Higher Exeter Road, the main tourist route into the resort. He also queried how many locals would be able to afford the ‘affordable houses’ in the development on the average wage for the area.

Another of his concerns was the extra stress on local roads through constructions lorries having to access the site via the main estuary road.

Other speakers feared the development would cause flooding in lower parts of the town by disturbance to the many springs on the hillside. Artist Dorothy Dawson believed the wildlife and plants on the ‘beautiful’ site would be harmed.

Councillors also had their concerns about the development.

Cllr David Cox said it should be rejected on planning and highway grounds, and added: ‘I doubt any of my constituents will be seeing the inside of any of these houses.’

Cllr Alison Eden believed a salary of about £70,000 a year would be needed for a mortgage on one of the homes.

‘There are 300 empty properties in Teignbridge – why not do something with them?’

Cllr Robert Phipps was concerned at how the schools would cope with extra numbers, and said the number of houses needed scaling down.

Cllr Sylvia Russell stressed that members had ‘to be mindful of planning law’, and warned that if the council lost at appeal, costs would have to be paid.

Cllr Vince Fusco insisted councillors ‘were listening’, and the mayor, Cllr Paul Burgess, who chaired the meeting, declared: ‘I do not believe this development can go ahead under any circumstances. The environment will be spoiled for future generations, but the developers will just move on elsewhere.’

On Wednesday the town council planning sub-committee decided to send a holding objection to Teignbridge for clarification on various ‘important’ points concerning the detailed application.