A PLANNING expert has warned of ‘developer wars’ over a shortage of sites to meet the need for hundreds of extra homes in the Tavistock area.

Graham Parker, a former town planning consultant, said although the emerging town neighbourhood plan did not need to identify potential new housing sites, there was a looming need to meet increased housing targets from the government, driven by a national shortage of housing.

The neighbourhood (or local) plan is a formal document outlining the town’s future aspirations including new housing.

The local plan has been approved by an ‘examiner’. The plan will be put to a residents’ referendum on May 1, ahead of possible adoption by the town council.

The examiner said although no new housing sites were in the plan, the government was due to issue housing target figures.

She explained: “There is a risk associated with not making housing site allocations in the neighbourhood plan, as it may result in speculative applications in locations which are not considered appropriate and these could be successful if the local planning authority (West Devon Borough Council) has an inadequate housing land supply."

Cllr Parker said: “West Devon Borough Council needs to urgently look at where all the new homes the government wants building will go in Tavistock. The examiner of the neighbourhood plan said the plan did not need to identify new sites, but warned developers can make speculative applications for sites and to see what reception they get.

“Although local people might not want lots of new homes in Tavistock with all the pressures on services and open spaces that brings, people do need somewhere to live and that’s the reality.”

He said 3,000 new homes would be needed in the next ten years in the borough, meaning up to 1,000 for Tavistock and 1,000 for Okehampton.