New houses can't be used as second homes

MANY OF THE 125 PROPERTIES ARE RINGFENCED FOR LOCALS ONLY

- WILLIAM TELFORD

WORK is expected to begin this autumn on a 125-home development on the edge of Plymouth - with all the properties banned from being used as either holiday lets or second homes.

Planning permission has been granted for the mixed-use scheme at the former Collaton Cross RAF base near Yealmpton.

The award-winning project will deliver 57 affordable homes, including 18 social rent properties for the Newton & Noss Community Land Trust, and seeks to redress the imbalance in housing opportunities for young people in the parish.

Other benefits will include £580,000 in Section 106 contributions ringfenced for the community, 16 acres of publicly accessible parkland, an orchard, allotments, regatta boat storage and 11 business employment units to support rural employment opportunities.

And, importantly, all of the homes will have a principal residence restriction - preventing them from being occupied as holiday lets or second homes.

A petition in support of the plan, signed by more than 300 local people, said: "House prices within Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo are the second highest in the South Hams, behind only Salcombe, and this is exacerbated by the influx in second/ holiday homeowners, which now account for 25% of all homes across Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo."