“Important” heritage asset in Tavistock turned down for redevelopment scheme

There are fears that a redundant Grade II listed former school in Tavistock will deteriorate further after planners narrowly rejected a development scheme for the building and its grounds.

The former Hazeldon Preparatory School on Parkwood Road, which is owned by the independent Mount Kelly School, has been vacant for ten years.

ABOVE: Hazeldon House in Tavistock. Image courtesy: West Devon Borough Council

School governors had sought permission for a scheme of ten open market homes on the 4.6 hectare site, including a cottage and barn complex, alongside the refurbishment of the house which has been subject to attacks of vandalism.

The plan, which also featured the restoration of extensive parkland, replaced a much larger scheme for 81 homes which was rejected by West Devon Borough Council several years ago.

The size of the new proposal fell outside the requirement to provide affordable housing, councillors were told.

School governor and chair of the Mount Kelly estates management group Keith Hollinshead said this was the “only viable option” to save the 1830s Hazeldon House, which would cost in the region of £1-million to do up, as it would be part funded by the sale of the open market homes.

Hazeldon Preparatory School was once part of Kelly College before the college merged with Mount House School in 2014 and became surplus to requirements.

But planning officers advised West Devon’s development management committee to turn down the application because it was in the open countryside, on the edge of the town, where occupiers would be reliant on the private car to access local amenities and services.

They said the housing mix of two, three and four bedroom high end properties would not contribute to meeting local housing needs and that the area should remain undeveloped to protect important views of the house.

Planners struggled to make a decision and were split over the officers’ view that the site was in an “unsustainable” location. 

ABOVE: Hazeldon House. Image courtesy: West Devon Borough Council

The vote was tied and decided ultimately on the chairman Terry Southcott’s (Con, Bridestowe) casting vote.

Cllr Ursula Mann (Ind, Tavistock North) said she couldn’t see why the site was considered unsustainable when it was a 30 minute flat walk into town, a brownfield site, and on the main A386 with buses going past.

Cllr Neil Jory (Con, Milton Ford) said Hazeldon House was a really important heritage asset to Tavistock, at one of the main entrances to the town and close to the impressive Kelly College building.

He said the land had previously been developed having been a school with sports pitches and Mount Kelly itself was of great value to the community and brought economic benefits to the town.

Cllr Caroline Mott (Con, Bridestowe) said she agreed with the officers that the development itself would not bring economic gain to the town but it did fit in with the rest of the “Kelly” site and the house was “an excellent example” of the town’s heritage.

Cllr Steve Guthrie (Green, Drewsteignton) said the only sticking point for him was that there was no affordable housing in the scheme: “If it could incorporate a level of affordable housing it would be good, they do not have to be of poor quality to be affordable.”

Principal planning officer Phil Baker said almost half of all the houses in Tavistock had at least two empty bedrooms. The authority was looking at increasing housing stock with less bedrooms so people could downsize and it would free up the larger homes for growing families, he said.