HOUSING PLANS ANGER IN RALEIGH AND CONANT COUNTRY (SPRING 2026)



East Budleigh, Littleham, Woodbury and Lympstone are just some of the historic villages that Sir Walter Raleigh and Roger Conant would have known from their childhood. In some parts of the district they would still recognise the landscape over which they walked or rode four centuries ago. But sewage leaks, potholed narrow roads, loss of good quality agricultural land and destruction of wildlife habitats are among the issues raised nowadays by protesters in East Devon, furious at the British government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes in England by the end of the decade, including in areas of outstanding natural beauty. 

 ‘Stop EXMO 20!’ ‘No more sewage!’ ‘Save our Pebblebed Heaths!’ ‘Exmouth is big enough!’ These were just some of the demands made by protesters from all generations who gathered outside Budleigh Salter ton’s Public Hall at 2.00 pm on Sunday 18 January. 

 There is growing anger at the plan to build 700 homes on greenfield sites just 500 metres from a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). 

 East Devon’s Pebblebed Heaths, located just a few miles outside Budleigh Salterton, are a site of critical importance for rare habitats. 


 

Photos: Facebook; Melyn Moon Photography 

 The area’s distinctive pebbles and Bronze Age sites have featured in the work of inter nationally known archaeologists such as Professor Chris Tilley. Notable wildlife species include Dartford Warblers, left, and Nightjars. 

 



Photos: Vcebollada, Wikipedia; Bill Coulson, Devon Birds 

The Pebblebed Heaths are criss-crossed with hundreds of tracks, most of which are open to the public. The area is popular with horse riders, cyclists and walkers. It is also used by Royal Marines from the nearby Commando Training Centre. 


 Peaceful places: Dalditch Common, looking south with Lyme Bay in the distance. Below is Squabmoor Reservoir. Photos: Michael Downes 

 Organisers of the event were pleased with the turnout, estimating that over 300 people attended. Not bad for a drizzly Sunday afternoon. Three hours later, the protest was the first item on BBC TV Spotlight local news. 

 The public consultation closed on 26 January. ‘Have your say’ is the usual call to the public on East Devon District Council’s website, but most people were bewildered and frustrated by the extraordinarily labyrinthine process of expressing any kind of view. Described as ’award-winning’ and ‘an online citizen engagement platform, the process is called Commonplace. 70% of its users are aged 45 or under according to the Commonplace website.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FROM EAST BUDLEIGH TO EASTERN UKRAINE, AND BACK (SPRING 2026)

Image
East Budleigh High Street from the tower of All Saints Church, and the consequences of a Russian missile attack on Dnipro on 14 January 2023. Image: Wikipedia   What makes an ex-Royal Marines officer choose to leave peaceful retire ment in a Devon village and join convoys delivering aid from Britain to an embattled country fighting for its survival? Andrew Canning OBE writes below about his most recent experience, which highlights the extreme situation of the people of Ukraine, and the small but significant part that he and his colleagues, and the people of East Budleigh, have played in helping them.   I am SO grateful to the many folk from East Budleigh and elsewhere that have donated either cash or material goods to the cause for which I volunteer in collecting and delivering much needed aid to Ukraine. The Ukraine Freedom Company (UFC) is a not-for-profit company, not a charity, that was estab lished shortly after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The founder, ...
Read more

HOW DID THE CONANT COURIER START? BEVERLY MA JOURNALIST PAUL LEIGHTON EXPLAINS. (WINTER 2025)

Image
The front page of the first issue of The Conant Courier (Autumn 2025) When I heard there was a new newsletter having something to do with Beverly, I got a little nervous. Could this be competition for The Beverly Beat?  Then I found out the newsletter was from across the pond — and I’m not talking Kelleher’s. The new publication is called The Conant Courier, and it’s based in Devon, England, the birthplace of Roger Conant.  Roger Conant is the answer to the first question any self-respecting Beverly trivia contestant should be able to answer — Who was the founder of Beverly? READ MORE AT  https://thebeverlybeat.substack.com/p/roger-that
Read more

THREE CHEERS FOR UNTIDINESS! (AUTUMN 2025)

Image
 ‘Wow!’ exclaimed our 12-year-old grand-daughter Lucy as she saw the shambles of more than 80 years of clutter hidden in our garage. She settled down to explore. We both agreed that every family home should have something similar—a museum of untidily stacked curios and unfamiliar objects to surprise and delight visitors, especially children. Lucy’s reaction reminded me of how, as a child, the sister of a well known composer described her feelings as she explored the ‘rambling and dilapidated’ property at 31 Station Road in Budleigh Salterton. Budleigh artist Joyce Dennys had suggested that the family move to the town at the outbreak of World War Two, and then seek a permanent home away from the London bombs. ‘The house was thrilling!’ the sister recalled in Anthony Meredith’s biography of her famous brother, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.  ‘I used to sneak about, taking everything in, and I went up to the attic once and it was full of assegais, masks and marvellous red-leather vo...
Read more