Why do WDBC want to develop Hog’s Wood?

West Devon Borough Council have eight key priorities for their 4 year term.

  1. Natural Environment
  2. Built Environment
  3. Housing
  4. Health & Wellbeing
  5. People & Community
  6. Economy & Jobs
  7. Performance & Resources
  8. Accessibility & Communications

Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy

In line with these priorities, ‘On 21 May 2019, West Devon Borough Council signed up to the Devon Climate Declaration and declared a Climate Change and Biodiversity Emergency’. In response they published a West Devon Borough Council Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy. In this Strategy the focus is on new tree planting.

Extract from WDBC’s Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy

3.1 - Securing tree planting through development proposals and Biodiversity Net Gain from new development including pushing the new Defra Biodiversity Metric 2.0 at pre-app and for new applications.

3.2 - Support more approaches by communities for tree planting on our land where there aren’t any trees and is consistent with land use and not likely to lead to conflict with neighbours or conflict with the outcomes from the Devon Nature Recovery Network Mapping project (DNRN) (i.e. right trees in the right place)

3.3 - Develop and adopt a more biodiversity/environmentally conscious Grounds Maintenance procedure.

3.4 - Pushing tree planting agenda within Neighbourhood Plans (allocating spaces for woodland creation and sustainable management)

Supporting mapping of local ecological networks/corridors within Neighbourhood Plans.

3.11b - b. Potentially allocate land for Carbon Sequestration as part of Joint Local Plan Review

Public Engagement

The public engagement document aimed at consulting Okehampton residents on their views of the development hits built environment housing priorities but negates natural environment health wellbeing and people community in doing so most noticably so in the statements pertaining to the natural environment.

Excerpt from Wonnacotts Road Public Engagement Document

Trees – there will be some loss but replacements could be provided, the loss of the mature trees on the access route is accepted given it has signs of failure.

Question boxes

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Species

An in-depth ecological survey was carried out by Wild Oke.

Wild Oke Ecology Survey - Interactive species list

More info about selected species