PLANS for a new primary school, supermarket and 60 houses in Okehampton were unveiled last week.

The scheme, put together by the Hunt Group, offers a six-acre site for a 420-pupil school with an 82-metre by 49-metre sports pitch on land to the south of Exeter Road, adjacent to Hare Tor Close and White Tor Close.

In terms of size, the school plans are similar to those at the previous school site, which was recently allocated for housing by West Devon Borough Council.

A development of 60 houses is proposed to go next to the new school, to the south of Monkey Puzzle Drive and Moorcroft Close.

To the south of the school and housing developments, there would be a site for a 'glamour camping' site, with yurts and wigwams.

The proposed new supermarket would be adjacent to Exeter Road, covering 30,000 square feet with 450 parking spaces. Any supermarket on the site would sell food only. The site would also include a park and ride facility from the new supermarket to the town centre.

However, should the proposed plans for a new Tesco store off Link Road get the go-ahead, an alternative use would be found for the land proposed for a supermarket.

All the land discussed in the plans is in private ownership. The proposed plans will cover 62 acres, 28 acres of which will be gifted to Okehampton College and trustees of the town by the landowner as part of any successful planning application. The land would preserve green space near the river and a site on Ball Hill could be used for more sports amenities.

The Hunt Group showed its plans at the White Hart Hotel last Wednesday and Thursday.

Paul Hunt, director of the Hunt Group, said: 'The reaction to the plans has been interestingly balanced. We have had almost as many people for the project as we have had against.

'One of the big comments we have been getting is that if the town were to get a new supermarket, this site would be better than one in the centre of town. The amount of people we have had in saying they are fed up of queuing in their car in town for shopping was surprising.

'Having said that, we know that if Tesco take the other site, we are very aware there is no need for a fifth supermarket in Okehampton.

'We view this meeting as coming down, throwing everything up in the air, talk to people and see what they think of these plans. This is the first of many visits. We want to be very public about the process. We will be back next time on a Friday and Saturday, to try and accommodate people who are working, so everyone gets to see these plans.'

The Hunt Group will hold a second series of public viewings for their plans in the near future.