A resident who lives next to a planned new housing development in Princetown is worried that building it will destroy peatland.

Graeme Barclay, architect, lives in Moorland View. where it is proposed ten affordable homes be built, subject to planning permission.

He is concerned the loss of peatland will remove a natural flood protection barrier, by soaking up excess water, a home to wildlife and the destruction of hundreds of years of build-up of peat which acts as carbon sink. A carbon sink helps mitigate global warming and climate change by reducing carbon dioxide in the air.

Graeme, who has lived in Princetown for ten years, has formally objected to the plan from West Devon Borough Council. The council said it is currently consulting with the public and therefore, has not yet submitted a formal planning application. Any such application would be decided by the planning authority the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA).

Graeme said: “A large part of the site is covered in undisturbed peatland. One wonders how the council will squeeze ten houses into the site and still comply with their own targets for biodiversity net gain and carbon reduction, when allowing for stripping this peatland to build houses. 

“The loss of this carbon sink will also affect surface water drainage in the village because it absorbs surface water that runs off North Hessary Tor. We all remember how the pub and school were flooded a couple of years ago, where surface water drains were inundated and the road was lifted by the force of water in the culverts.”

He asks how the park authority which is tasked with protecting peatlands on the moor can justify stripping them to build a housing development.

Graeme says there are toads and a colony of common newts nearby on the peatland, which would be displaced if building was allowed.

He also says that the homes will increase traffic on a section of the popular Abbots Way long-distance footpath that shares the same route as the access to the site: “DNPA should be protecting this culturally important footpath under their remit, as well as the safety of pedestrians who use the combined road and path.”

He suggests the fact that these local authorities will be deciding their own planning consents does not give the right impression concerning impartial decision making: “I therefore urge everyone who has a view, whether as a resident, or a walker on the moor, to comment on the consultation site so there’s no doubt about what people feel.”

To contribute to the public consultation on the Moorland View plan, interested people can do so via this Commonplace website: http://moorlandviewprincetown.commonplace.is/

The consultation website says the planned homes are designed fit into the character of Princetown and includes four one-bedroom, five two-bedroom and one three bedroom properties. Each will have air source heat pumps for heating and use local materials. The design includes a road layout to lower traffic impact, while overlooking homes will be minimised and maintain privacy of existing residents.