East Devon Must Slow Down: Why the Current Scale of Housing Growth Risks Environmental Damage
An opinion piece from the Otter Valley Association
There is little doubt that East Devon needs new homes. Young people struggle to get onto the housing ladder, affordable housing remains in short supply, and families understandably want opportunities to remain within the communities they have grown up in. However, recognising the need for housing should not mean accepting every development proposal placed before us. The real debate is not whether homes should be built, but whether East Devon can sustainably accommodate the scale of growth currently being proposed:
- East Devon's emerging Local Plan proposes thousands of additional homes over the plan period. This would represent one of the most significant periods of growth in the district's history, with substantial expansion planned around settlements including Cranbrook, Exeter's eastern fringe and a number of rural communities.
In our view, the answer is increasingly clear: “we are attempting to build beyond the environmental limits of the district”.
For years, local residents have been told that growth can be achieved without significant consequences. Yet the evidence around us tells a different story. Roads are becoming more congested, public services are under strain, and concerns about sewage, flooding, water resources, and habitat loss continue to grow. At the same time, climate change is transforming the challenges that planners must consider. What may have appeared sustainable twenty years ago is not necessarily sustainable today.
Perhaps the most alarming issue is sewage infrastructure:
- Across Devon, storm overflows have discharged sewage thousands of times in recent years. While infrastructure providers maintain that networks can accommodate growth, the continued occurrence of sewage releases into rivers and coastal waters raises legitimate questions about whether existing systems are keeping pace with development.
Residents are repeatedly assured that wastewater systems can cope with additional development, yet concerns persist about treatment capacity and the impact of storm overflow discharges during periods of heavy rainfall. Every new housing estate increases the volume of wastewater entering the system. If existing networks struggle during extreme weather events now, it is reasonable to ask how they will perform with thousands more homes connected to them.
This concern becomes even more significant when viewed through the lens of climate change. Scientists predict that the South West will experience increasingly intense rainfall events alongside longer periods of drought. Heavy downpours place greater pressure on drainage and sewage networks, increasing the risk of overflows and pollution incidents. In other words, the environmental challenges of today are likely to become even more severe tomorrow. Continuing to approve large-scale development without first ensuring robust infrastructure improvements appears not only risky but irresponsible.
The impact on water resources is equally troubling. East Devon already experiences periods of water stress during dry summers.
- Much of East Devon lies within an area officially classified as experiencing water stress. Population growth, combined with hotter summers and more frequent drought conditions, means demand for water is expected to increase at precisely the same time that climate change is reducing resilience in water resources.
Climate change is expected to increase pressure on water supplies as higher temperatures, longer dry spells, and growing populations compete for finite resources. Every new housing development adds to demand, yet there appears to be insufficient public discussion about where future water supplies will come from or how they will be managed sustainably.
- Recent years have seen significant flooding incidents across Devon, with intense rainfall events becoming more frequent. Replacing permeable farmland and green spaces with roads, roofs and hard surfaces can increase surface-water runoff, placing additional pressure on drainage systems and downstream communities.
Then there is the question of land itself. East Devon's greatest asset is its environment. The district contains nationally and internationally important landscapes, including the Jurassic Coast, protected heathlands, river valleys, ancient woodland, and productive farmland.
- Much of the land identified for development consists of productive agricultural land. At a time when food security is becoming an increasing national concern, the permanent loss of farmland deserves far greater scrutiny than it currently receives.
These are not empty spaces waiting to be developed. They are living ecosystems that support biodiversity, help regulate water, store carbon, and contribute enormously to local wellbeing and the economy:
- The UK is recognised as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with many species experiencing long-term declines. Against this backdrop, every loss of habitat, hedgerow or wildlife corridor matters. Biodiversity net gain policies are welcome, but they cannot fully replace established ecosystems that have evolved over decades or centuries.
Supporters of development often argue that biodiversity can be offset through mitigation schemes, new planting, or habitat creation elsewhere. While these measures have value, they should not be viewed as a licence for continual expansion. Ancient landscapes and long-established ecosystems cannot simply be recreated overnight. Once a field becomes a housing estate, it is lost forever.
Climate change makes the protection of green spaces even more important. Natural habitats help absorb carbon dioxide, reduce flooding, cool urban areas during heatwaves, and provide resilience against environmental change. At a time when governments and local authorities are declaring climate emergencies, it seems contradictory to support levels of development that steadily erode these natural assets.
There is also a broader philosophical question about what East Devon should become. Many people choose to live, work, or visit the district because of its distinctive character. The mixture of countryside, coastline, market towns, and villages is not accidental. It is the result of centuries of careful development that respected the landscape and its limitations. The cumulative effect of thousands of additional homes risks gradually transforming East Devon into a more densely developed extension of the Exeter urban area.
Supporters of growth frequently present opponents as being anti-housing or resistant to change. This is a false choice. It is entirely possible to support affordable housing while questioning the scale and pace of development. In fact, many residents would argue that these are separate issues. Too often, large developments are justified in the name of affordability, yet many of the resulting properties remain beyond the reach of average local earners. If growth is being pursued at considerable environmental cost, local communities are entitled to ask whether the promised benefits are actually being delivered.
Despite years of large-scale housebuilding, affordability remains a major challenge. In many parts of East Devon, average house prices remain many times higher than average local incomes. Residents are therefore entitled to ask whether high-volume housing delivery is genuinely solving the affordability crisis or simply increasing overall development levels.
A more responsible approach would prioritise genuinely affordable housing, brownfield redevelopment, smaller-scale developments that integrate more naturally into existing communities, and infrastructure improvements delivered before major expansion occurs. Above all, planning decisions should acknowledge that environmental capacity is not unlimited.
- Communities have repeatedly been promised that schools, health facilities, roads and utilities will accompany growth. Too often, however, development arrives first while infrastructure improvements follow years later, if they arrive at all. Residents are left dealing with the consequences in the meantime.
East Devon faces challenges that previous generations did not. Climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and ageing infrastructure are no longer future concerns; they are present realities. Continuing to approve housing growth on the assumption that environmental systems will simply adapt is a gamble with the district's future.
Few districts contain such a concentration of nationally and internationally protected landscapes. This places a particular responsibility on planners to demonstrate that growth will not undermine the very environmental qualities that make East Devon special.
Conclusion:
Housing is needed, particularly homes that local people can genuinely afford. Yet planning should not be driven by housing numbers alone. East Devon faces increasing pressures from climate change, water scarcity, sewage infrastructure constraints, biodiversity loss and flooding risk. The district is home to internationally important landscapes and habitats that cannot simply be recreated once lost. Growth that ignores these realities is not sustainable development. The question is not whether East Devon should grow, but whether growth is occurring at a pace and scale that our environment, infrastructure and communities can realistically support. If we get that balance wrong, future generations may inherit more houses, but a poorer, less resilient East Devon.