Plans for 175 homes and hotel on green fields near Brixham to be submitted

Developers planning homes and a new hotel in green fields on the outskirts of Brixham plan to file an official planning application later this month.

In its latest update on its proposals, Sheffield-based developer Monksbridge Park Ltd says it wants to hear what local people think of its plans for 175 new homes in the fields alongside the junction and skate park at Monksbridge.

It says the land is currently unused and has no public access, and homes there will help to meet Torbay’s need for new homes. The company has opened consultations online until February 19, and says it will consider all comments and make any necessary changes to its plans before submitting an outline planning application to Torbay Council.

An outline application will only establish the key principles of building on the site, with all the details of layout and individual buildings to come at a later stage.

Conservation campaigners in the Save Brixham’s Green Space group oppose the plans and say recent rainfall has highlighted one of the biggest issues with the site.

One member wrote online: “If ever there was a wake-up call then the weather this week has provided it.

“The Monksbridge fields soak up the rain and then it runs down into the New Road stream and out into the harbour. Imagine those fields all built over, with tarmacked drives and the extra water that will have to go somewhere as a result.

“It was said at the flood planning meetings previously it is not a case of IF Brixham could become another Boscastle but WHEN.”

Asked ‘What do you like about the proposals?’ in the online consultation, one member of the group wrote: “Nothing.”

But the developer says it will come up with a high-quality design with buildings in keeping with the surrounding areas.

It says: “The aim is to create a place that feels attractive, distinctive and varied, while still fitting in with the surrounding streets. The homes are designed to be sensitive to the local area, having a sense of identity that integrates with the existing community and complements the architecture.”

The new neighbourhood will have generous green ‘buffers’, it says, to protect the woodland and stream to the north of the site near the skate park. Its drainage will also be designed with flooding and climate change in mind.

An area within the site will be earmarked for local shops, a gym, a hotel, a café or ‘hot food offerings’. Details will be announced later, but the developer says jobs will be created.