PROPOSALS for an additional 900 houses in Okehampton have been strongly condemned by the town council.

And the authority has hired a planning consultant to help in its battle.

The proposals are contained within West Devon Borough Council's core strategy, which will set out the development blueprint for the town up to 2026.

At a meeting of the town council it was agreed to make strong representations to the borough council, and to engage an independent chartered planning consultant to fight its case.

Okehampton mayor, Cllr Kay Bickley, said: 'These proposals are extremely important for the town and its residents and businesses and we need to combat them in the most effective and professional manner possible.

'It is no good simply saying "we object" as that will get us nowhere. We have to put forward a strong case based on planning policy, sustainability, accessibility and infrastructure issues.'

Stephen Gill, the former head of planning and development at West Devon, has been employed by the town council and submitted a lengthy and detailed response to the proposals.

Mr Gill said he was 'honoured' to have been asked by the town council to assist it with a suitable response to the proposals.

The blueprint for the town includes 900 houses, all to be located to the east of the town. This is an addition to the 500 houses for which there is already a current allocation and planning application.

It is also planned to develop about ten hectares of land close to Exeter Road for business and employment purposes.

Mr Gill said the thrust of the response was against the sheer number of houses being proposed for the town.

'In the past, Okehampton has taken the brunt of the housing allocations in the borough, despite being a smaller town than Tavistock,' he said.

'There have been good reasons for that historic approach, not least to help sustain the town and its economy.

'However, that previous strategy has worked and the introduction of Waitrose has helped boost the viability of the town centre.

'There is no longer any planning justification for Okehampton to continue such an urban sprawl, especially when the social and physical infrastructure is creaking at the seams.'

The response also questions how and when the necessary infrastructure will be delivered and suggests that any additional housing for the town should be balanced with development to the west of it, which is closer to the town centre, and thus avoid a large urban extension to the east.

Cllr Bickley said: 'We are hopefully taking a responsible and sustainable approach to the future of the town.

'We are not taking the "nimby approach" and accept that some growth will be necessary. But this needs to be done in a measured and better integrated way with the necessary infrastructure provided up front.

'Hopefully, the borough council will give serious consideration to our response and alter their plans accordingly.'

The closing date for responses to the core strategy consultation was Friday, October 31 and the borough council will now consider all the representations made before finalising its plans in March/April next year.