TOWN councillors have joined an escalating controversy over a housing development in Tavistock by urging a Government minister to intervene.

They want Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove to call in a scheme to build 44 homes and a four-storey extra care unit in land off Plymouth Road on the outskirts of the town.

West Devon Borough Council gave the application outline permission, but campaigners led by ex town councillor and planning consultant Graham Parker persuaded them to delay issuing confirmation to applicants Baker Estates while Mr Gove decides if he will call the project in for examination.

Town councillors decided to join the campaign after borough council planners gave the application the green light despite their objections.

Cllr Paul Ward, chairman of the town council’s development management and licensing committee, appeared before borough councillors to urge them to reject the application.

He told the latest meeting of the town council the application had been initially approved despite their concerns it did not provide affordable housing for local people and it did not provide employment land, with the implication that Tavistock residents could travel to other places to work.

Cllr Ward said although the borough council had said the extra care facility would provide social housing ‘to the best of my knowledge there is nothing in writing’ and ‘there’s a very a strong feeling in the town which tells a different story’.

He said a judicial review of the borough council’s decision had been considered, but ‘it was decided that was not the way to go’.

Councillors were also concerned over the construction of a four-storey extra care home unit on the doorstep of a World Heritage site, while other objectors said the development would cause traffic problems.

Meanwhile, Ursula Mann, chair of a steering group aiming to develop a Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), said the controversy could have been avoided if the document had already been in place.

NDPs are supported by the Government and have legal backing, which means community views on planning applications have to be considered before a decision on whether they can go ahead can be made. It gives residents more say on what should be built in their community, what it looks like and where, ranging from housing developments to leisure facilities. It is thought it will take up to five years to get Tavistock’s NDP in place.

Cllr Mann, Tavistock’s deputy mayor, said an NDP would give the town statutory weight to its views over such applications as the Baker Estates project.

She said: ‘It would have been helpful to have this in place, because it is the best option we have to get the town heard.

‘It (the plan) is not going to stop developments from going ahead – developers will always want to build houses in Tavistock, because it’s a nice place to live.

‘But it will be valuable for us to be able to have a say in what these houses look like, and although we are not necessarily going to be able to stop the development, we will be able to shape it. It really is a vehicle to help us if you are taking about creating a sustainable Tavistock for the future.’

They are holding their next public meeting for current and potential supporters on February 9, possibly at Tavistock College.

Steering group members have stressed that as many people in the town should get involved in the drafting of the plan if they want it to succeed.

The completed plan has to go before an independent inspector for final approval and will not succeed unless it involves a significant cross-section of Tavistock’s community.