A GROUP set up in Okehampton to speak against West Devon's development blueprint when it is scrutinised at a public enquiry next month collected close to 500 signatures for a petition in the town on Saturday.

The Okehampton Area Residents' Action Group will be collecting signatures again this Saturday (October 9) for the petition, which will be presented to the planning inspector at the inquiry hearings in Tavistock.

There has been much opposition to the proposals in West Devon's core strategy, which dictates development in the borough over the next 16 years, including the building of 900 new homes on the eastern edge of Okehampton.

The group is not only protesting against the core strategy, it also claims that the way the borough council has operated over the last few years has been to the detriment of Okehampton.

l Pictured is action group member Valerie Cushing collecting signatures for the petition in Okehampton town centre on Saturday.