Affordable houses to be built near Dartmoor National Park

LiveWest, the south west’s largest housing provider, were granted planning permission by the National Park for the development, adjacent to the existing housing at Fairfield, in South Street.

It is intended that the development will deliver 25 homes for affordable rent and 15 for shared ownership and will provide a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom accommodation.

Granted permission under delegated powers, planning officers said that the scheme is considered to be a positive opportunity to provide affordable housing within the South Brent and an enhancement opportunity consistent with the desire to improve the overall character and appearance of the National Park.

They added: “It should be noted that the principle behind the allocation of the site for housing is to provide affordable housing. The realization that this will only be achieved in the current climate through allowing open market housing as a catalyst is fundamental to this approach.

Street scene of the 40 new homes in South Brent

“The mix of housing styles, sizes and tenure will help integrate the development into the overall character of the village and provide further housing for local people, and concerns of the Parish and local community have been carefully considered.

“Officers believe that careful management of the construction phases, conditional planning approval and a robust legal agreement give the confidence that this can be achieved with the minimum disturbance.”

Anthony Eke, new business manager for LiveWest, said: “We have worked hard with Vistry to bring forward this exciting development which importantly will make a big difference to accessing to new affordable homes in South Brent.

“We are particularly pleased as the site is located in Dartmoor National Park, where opportunities to provide affordable housing are limited.

“The development will not only deliver new affordable homes for local people within a vibrant village but is also really well located for employment and all the health and wellbeing benefits of the National Park.

“The need for such accommodation will prove even more pertinent during the difficult economic time we face as part of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

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The development is benefitting from grant-funding from government housing agency Homes England, and work is expected to start later this year and the homes will be completed by summer 2022.

The development is the latest partnership project between LiveWest and Vistry Partnerships, and Bradley Davison, Managing Director Vistry Partnerships South West, added: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to deliver beautiful homes in an area of outstanding beauty within the South West, providing opportunities for local people in an area with low affordable housing provision.

“South Brent is a fantastic example of our land led development offering, sourcing land and developing viable schemes that will help our clients in meeting the affordable housing needs of the South West, tackling the housing shortage and transforming lives and landscapes by delivering quality homes.”