Fearful residents packed into a special town council meeting recently to hear how a housing boom in Tavistock could threaten its international heritage status.

The residents attended to hear details of two plans for a combined 260 homes on Callington Road and Violet Lane, both on the edge of town.

There is growing opposition to hundreds of potential new homes being built across the town, as developers take advantage of the current government’s drive for more house building to put forward speculative proposals.

The move has left residents alarmed by the prospect of more housing, leading to an influx of people and increase of traffic and health services and schools being overwhelmed.

They are also concerned that the rural outlook and appearance of Tavistock will be destroyed by estates built on the outskirts of town.

Of major significance is that Tavistock is the ‘eastern gateway’ to the Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Landscape.

Residents heard councillors say that building more estates could threaten this international status and losing it would harm the economy, cut off an important source of grant aid and open the door to more harmful development.

Town councillor Graham Parker suggested to the town council planning committee that this latest proposed Callington Road estate – opposite the expanding Tors estate – was illegal under planning law.

He cautioned, however: “Even if I am right and this plan is illegal, the developers can still have a legitimate planning point. They could say that unless the planning authority [West Devon Borough Council] can demonstrate ‘significant harm’ would be caused by the proposal they should grant consent.”

He said this harm could potentially be shown under Tavistock’s world heritage status which affords it the ‘highest protection’: “Therefore, we have to show, that cumulatively all these developments could cause irreparable harm to its world heritage status and impact on residents.”

Tavistock’s ‘world heritage’ status was granted in 2006, placing it on a par with international treasures like Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China. The status signifies that protecting the heritage of Tavistock, the Tamar Valley and the surrounding countryside is important internationally.

Town mayor Cllr Steve Hipsey said: “We have to make it clear that Tavistock is different to many other towns due to its position on the edge of Dartmoor which places restraints on its road network. There’s no where to place a ring road to take all the extra traffic. All the traffic comes through the centre of town on roads which can’t be modified to take extra traffic.

“World heritage status gives us a big stick to challenge these plans.”

The town council cannot make planning decisions, they are made by West Devon Borough Council. However, it does have influence as a consultee on planning.

Therefore, the committee agreed to consult on the legality of the Callington Road plan.

Councillors will also contact UNESCO which oversees world heritage sites and the responsible government minister, the culture secretary. They will also ask Devon County Council, as the highways authority, to undertake a study into the potential cumulative and individual effects of traffic on Tavistock from planned estates.