Call for supermarket to give access for social homes
»Braunton
MORE than 70 Braunton residents gathered to issue a rallying call to combat the escalating housing crisis.
They met at the Parish Hall on Saturday, April 6, to show their support for Braunton Community Land Trust's (CLT) campaign to build affordable social rented housing.
Mark Cann, CLT treasurer, told the meeting: “Braunton, like so many other communities, is facing a housing crisis. Too many second homes and short-term holiday lets mean we have too few homes for local people to rent. Braunton Community Land Trust was established to help address these needs and wants to build 25-30 homes for social rent that will remain available for local people in perpetuity – they can never be sold.”
But the CLT's plans for one site it has identified have been frustrated by the refusal of Tesco to allow access along a service road to the potential site that lies behind its Braunton store.
Explaining the impasse, Braunton CLT chair Roy Tomlinson told the meeting: “We have the landowner's agreement, the planners are supportive, but the site is only accessible by the road that runs behind the store. But Tesco is refusing to give a right of way along that road to the potential site; it says it wants to preserve the access for potential future development.
“We are asking Braunton residents to support our campaign to persuade Tesco to change its mind and allow the access that will mean we can build up to 25 much needed social homes.”
The CLT has launched a petition calling on Tesco to allow access for the development. During the meeting two additional locations were suggested and the petition is also calling on North Devon Council to help unblock these other sites.