Feniton

Feniton

Approaching Feniton
Feniton
 Feniton shown within Devon
Population 1,568 (2011)
OS grid referenceSY0999
Civil parishFeniton
DistrictEast Devon
Shire countyDevon
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town HONITON
Postcode district EX14
Dialling code 01404
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentTiverton and Honiton
List of places
UK
England
Devon

Coordinates: 50°47′12″N 3°16′57″W / 50.78661°N 3.28257°W

Feniton is a village and civil parish in East Devon the English county of Devon. It lies approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Honiton, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Ottery St Mary, and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Talaton. The parish of Feniton also incorporates the hamlets of Colesworthy, Higher Cheriton and Curscombe, and covers an area of 644 hectares (1591 acres).[1] At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,796,[2] which was estimated to have risen to 1,916 by 2005.[1] The population of Feniton parish was 1,568 at the 2011 Census.[3] The 2012 draft East Devon Local Plan recorded 716 houses within the Built Up Area Boundary. Feniton is a major part of the electoral ward called Feniton and Buckerell. The total population of this ward at the above census was 2,274.[4]

The Village

The original village of Feniton contains the 13th-century church, the post office, and a number of thatched cottages. The Vine Water, a tributary of the River Otter, runs through this part of the village and is generally believed to have given the village its name. Feniton new village lies approximately 0.75 miles (1.21 km) west of the original village and is separated by open countryside. This area was formerly known as Sidmouth Junction and for many years consisted of just a few houses, a public house and a chapel, which were associated with the building and operation of the railway station of the same name. From the mid-1960s onwards, this area was transformed into Feniton new village by various medium-scale housing developments. These were accompanied by the building of Feniton Primary School, two village shops (one of which has since closed), and a playing field. More recently, a sports and social club, private dental practice, hairdresser and fast food takeaway have also opened in this part of the village. In 1967, when the new village was taking shape, the original Sidmouth Junction railway station and its associated branch line were closed as part of the Beeching rail network cuts. The station was reopened in 1971 with the new name of Feniton, and offers a limited service to Exeter and London Waterloo.

Feniton Today

The village has made regional and national headlines in the past few years owing to its serious problems with flooding, and attempts by developers to increase massively the size of the village in the face of local opposition and opposition from East Devon District Council. In 2008 a number of residents were forced to move into the upper storeys of their houses to escape rising flood waters, and the village suffered again in November 2012: the situation for the village remains so grave that it has its own Flood Warden scheme, and Devon County Council has estimated the cost of a new flood defense scheme – which has yet to be built – as in the region of £1.6 million. The village made national headlines for a different reason in March 2013, when the East Devon District Councillor for the Feniton and Buckerell ward, developer Graham Brown, was caught in a sting by the Daily Telegraph, seemingly admitting that he was willing to secure planning permission in return for payment. (Mr Brown subsequently resigned his position as District Councillor. A lengthy police investigation followed, but in October 2014 it was announced that the police investigation was closed given that there was insufficient evidence for a case to be brought against him.).) Notwithstanding that Feniton remains a village where heavy rain continues to cause flooding, with sewage running in the streets, Feniton has been singled out by no fewer than three developers as the ideal place to build several hundred houses on new housing estates. Under East Devon District Council’s draft Local Plan, the Council deemed that in the period up to 2026 it would be appropriate for Feniton to host another 35 houses. Nonetheless developers Wainhomes applied for permission to build 50 houses on high quality arable land at the eastern edge of the village on a field which regular floods and contributes to the village’s flooding problems. Despite local opposition and being turned down by East Devon District Council, the developers won their case on appeal at a Public Inquiry in 2012, and construction on this estate, which opens onto a narrow road wide enough for only one vehicle at a time, has started. While the threat to Feniton’s way of life was highlighted in 2013 and 2014 by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) as an example of the failure of England’s planning regulations, the 50 houses approved for the village proved to be the tip of a very large iceberg. Wainhomes applied to build a further 83 houses as an extension to their site for 50 houses won at appeal; developers Feniton Park applied to build 32 houses in the centre of the village; and Strategic Land Partnerships applied to build up to 120 houses at the western end of the village. These developments, if allowed in full, would have increased Feniton in size by 285 houses – i.e. by over 40% – in the space of a year or two in the face of opposition from the community and its District Council. Meanwhile Cranbrook – a new town which will comprise 6,000 houses to meet East Devon’s housing needs – has already welcomed its first new residents, who will enjoy the benefits of new schools, a new railway station and associated infrastructure. Cranbrook is situated just 6 miles (less than 10 km) to the west of Feniton. In April 2014, and after a thorough investigation at a ‘Super’ Inquiry where the three developers, Feniton Parish Council and East Devon District Council all put their case for the level of development appropriate in the village, the Planning Inspectorate ruled that only the proposed Feniton Park development for 32 houses should be permitted. The proposals by Wainhomes and Strategic Land Partnerships were comprehensively thrown out for a number of reasons, including the damage these large scale developments would cause the local landscape, character and appearance, and the inevitable increase in local car usage, given the inadequacy of poor public transport. A condition of Wainhomes being allowed to build 50 houses in Feniton was the construction of attenuation tanks on site to hold flood water, and Wainhomes was charged with not allowing any houses to be occupied until this condition was met. However it emerged in October 2014 that not only had Wainhomes failed to install the required flood risk measures, but had allowed new residents to move in. Wainhomes’ disregard for the Planning Inspectorate and the safety of the village was covered by regional and national media, including a feature on BBC TV’s “The One Show”. In November 2014 Wainhomes came back with yet another development proposal, this time for 31 houses on the site, to be constructed in part on what had previously been designated a recreational area. To date over 350 objections have been lodged with East Devon District Council to this latest proposal, bringing to almost 1000 the number of people who have objected to Wainhomes’ proposals for Feniton over the years.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Devon County Council : East Devon Parishes
  2. ↑ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : East Devon Retrieved 28 January 2010
  3. ↑ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Feniton & Buckerell ward 2011". Retrieved 24 February 2015.

1. Devon County Council, http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/councildemocracy/improving_our_services/facts_figures_and_statistics/factsandfigures/thepeople/peopleestandproj/peoplepopestimates/peoplefhsaeastpar.htm

 http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/drafteastdevonlocalplan.htm 
 http://www.devon.gov.uk/devon_november_floods_2012_final.pdf 
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9921344/Councillors-for-hire-who-give-firms-planning-advice.html]

External links

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