MEMBERS of a consortium which is hoping to develop 500 new homes on land in Okehampton this week claimed a proposed new relief road and school for the town could be at risk.

Terry Knapp, of Leander Developments, claims the road and school could be lost if West Devon Borough Council supports an application, recently lodged by Persimmon Homes, to build 126 houses on the site between Exeter Road and Crediton Road.

Mr Knapp said Persimmon were members of the consortium, along with Leander, hoping to deliver the new developments, but had surprised the consortium by applying to develop its part of the land in isolation from the rest.

He said: 'I don't know what possessed them to do it.'

Mr Knapp said the 35-acre site was allocated for development in the West Devon Local Plan. He said the borough had insisted the site was developed as a single unit in order to fund a £14-million package of infrastructure benefits, including affordable housing, a link road, and primary school. Negotiations on how the completed site will look have taken more than three years, said Mr Knapp.

'If Persimmon are granted consent, the only option will be for each of the other landowners to submit their own applications.

'It will be impossible to deliver anything more than the basic infrastructure requirements if the costs are not spread fairly across the whole site, as the local plan envisages,' he said.

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes said: 'There are three major projects on the starting block in Okehampton, the school, 500 houses and the link road.

'All these schemes could start this summer and deliver great benefits for the town.

'However, despite years of negotiation, none of them have full planning permission.

'Persimmon have submitted an application for what we know we can deliver — the access to the school and 126 houses, including 44 affordable units. We can see no reason why granting our application should prevent delivery of the remaining two schemes.'

The spokesman said it remained Persimmon's intention, as part of its application, to service with highways and services, the school site, which should in itself aid a swifter delivery of the school.

'Devon County Council have obtained planning permission for the school site and the Persimmon application ensures the road proposals for access are obtained.

'The acquisition of the school site by Devon County Council is a matter between DCC and Leander direct,' he said.

A spokesperson for West Devon Borough Council said: 'There are still a number of outstanding matters concerning this application, including a response from Devon County Council regarding their requirements.

'It is hoped the matter will be presented in full to the borough council's planning and licensing committee when it meets on March 3.'