Residents have been warned the hated so-called ‘Berlin Wall’, dividing two Okehampton housing estates in Okehampton, could stand for years to come.

The roadblock on the Meldon Fields estate is cutting off a safe route to school and is the subject of a dispute between the site owner/developer, West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) and residents who are forced to make detours round the wall.

Councillors are calling for a strip of land at Kellands Lane to be opened up quickly as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ by owners Leander Developments Ltd, who have secured outline permission in principle (outline) to build around 60 homes off Baldwin Drive.

A condition of the planning consent is to complete footpaths and a road, allowing pedestrians, cyclists and, eventually, vehicles to use Kellands Lane, but at different points during building and could take up to a decade.

Earlier this year an unauthorised concrete wall named locally as the Berlin Wall was built to stop people getting through but was later part bulldozed, reportedly by a resident. A barrier, however, remains and anyone trying to use the route is regarded as trespassing.

Cllr Tony Leech told WDBC planning committee a pavement and road to St James’ Primary School should be completed earlier.  The conditions of planning consent state Kellands Lane should be open to walkers and cyclists before homes were sold and the road finished before the occupation of the 15th home.

He said: “Residents of Kellands Lane have had enough of this situation, I cannot blame them for becoming more militant. It’s not fair we should leave these things as they are for what could be many years to come. We are (effectively) forcing the community to trespass just to keep their children safe, it’s time to make a stand and resolve this issue once and for all.”

Coiuncillors accepted that approving the application would resolve the situation, but were ‘uncomfortable’ with it.

Cllr Caroline Mott said detailed plans did not have to be submitted for three years and another three years before development started - leading to about ten years before a solution.

Officers said Devon County Highways supported the plans and the site was close to shops, the primary school and employment opportunities and surrounded by housing.

Speaking for the developer, Ian Jewson said the rapid rise in construction costs in the last five years had meant developing housing schemes had become “extremely difficult”.

Cllr Steve Guthrie said he would like to see house building done in a  different way as traditional building methods were proving “too expensive and outdated” and the planning committee needed to take advice on this and look at modular constructions which were used in other countries.

Planning committee chairman, Cllr Ric Cheadle said: “We are all disappointed that in one sense this application is not policy compliant in the fact that it does not deliver the affordable housing we so desperately need.

“However, it does generate housing and offers the potential for the unblocking of that roadblock at that corner of the site, I do not see any other application coming towards us to do that.”