AFTER months of hard work a group of Okehampton residents are gearing up to take their protest against proposed development for the town all the way to Downing Street.

Members of the Okehampton Sustainable Development Group have been campaigning against Government plans for development in the town ever since they were released in West Devon Borough Council's Local Development Framework Plan.

So far their protest has not only taken them on a door to door mission in Okehampton but also to the borough council's offices in Tavistock where they launched a full scale protest.

Now they are taking the protest one step further and, with the aid of West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox and Central Devon Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate Mel Stride, they will present a petition to 10 Downing Street on Friday, October 10.

The petition, which highlights growing concerns within the town over what opponents see as the detrimental affect housing targets could have, calls upon the Government to rethink the scale of new housing being earmarked for Okehampton. It has been signed by more than 2,500 people.

The borough council's plans, based on Government directives, would see a minimum of 1,400 houses built in Okehampton by 2026.

Okehampton Sustainable Development Group believes the town will not be able to accommodate this without 'severe and totally unsatisfactory' consequences.

Pam Stewart, one of the group's founding members, said: 'We're really hoping other people in the country will realise that this will affect everyone and we're hoping to encourage them to do the same as us — that way it will have some impact and then it might make the difference.

'We don't want to stop people living in Okehampton, it's a beautiful place, but we're ruining it by packing people in when we haven't got the required infrastructure in place.'

Chief among the group's concerns are the additional strain any proposed development would place on the town's infrastructure, including roads, schools and health care provision.

The presentation of the petition has been organised by Mr Stride, who is another of the group's founding members.

He said: 'This government has approached new housing development in a typical over-centralised fashion — dumping huge requirements for new housing on local communities without sufficient thought as to the implications for those living there.

'Okehampton's infrastructure will not be able to cope with the excessive levels of proposed new development. There comes a point when we have to say enough is enough.'

The petition will be presented by Mr Cox whose constituency currently includes Okehampton.

Okehampton mayor Kay Bickley was full of praise for the move and the efforts of Mr Stride and Mr Cox.

She said: 'I'm extremely pleased they're working together to support us.

'To have an MP and a prospective MP who are stridently in support of rural communities is great.'

There is still time to sign the petition, before it is taken to Downing Street. It can be signed at either the Red Rooster Café or Occasions in Okehampton's Arcade.