Sidmouth Road, Colyton, EX24 6JP

Key Points

Location

Colyton is a historic market town located in the sought after county of East Devon. The town is situated in close proximity to the Jurassic Coast, 10 miles east of Sidmouth, 7 miles west of Lyme Regis and 3 miles north of Seaton. Axminster and Honiton railway stations are approximately 20 minutes from the site, providing easy access to Exeter, Plymouth and London.

The resurgent seaside town of Seaton forms part of the World Heritage Site known as the Jurassic Coast. Axminster, a busy market town with a wide variety of amenities including leisure facilities and Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall's River Cottage restaurant is positioned around 5 miles to the north east of Colyton, whilst Lyme Regis, with its sandy beach and famous centuries-old Cobb and harbour is about 7 miles to the east.

The cathedral city of Exeter lies 24 miles to the west and offers an extensive range of commercial, educational, and recreational facilities. The property is centrally located in close walking distance to numerous services and facilities including shops, restaurants and the local bus stop. The Colyton Primary School is within 50m of the site and the town centre is but 300m away. Colyton Grammar School is a renowned Ofsted ?Outstanding' school is located approximately 1 mile away. The school was ranked as the best performing co-education secondary school in England by the Department of Education in 2018. In 2019, 66% of A-level students at the school received A and A* grades.

The Property

The property comprises the former CeramTec factory premises which were purpose built from the 1950's onwards for the processing of china clay and the production and distribution of ceramic components for electrical equipment. The Gross Internal Area of the existing buildings on site which are due to be demolished by Homes England's contractor measure 7,791.66 sq m (83,871 sq ft). The property has extensive road frontage to Sidmouth Road, which intersects with the A358 Sidmouth/Lyme Regis road.

The total site measures circa 3.06 hectares (7.45 acres), split 2.13 hectares brownfield and 0.93 hectares greenfield. Much of the brownfield land is set across two level platforms that have been cut into the sloping ground. The upper part of the site along the western boundary is prominent in the local landscape and is proposed to be retained for public open space. The open space and proposed housing will benefit from spectacular views across, and close proximity to, the East Devon AONB, the Colyton Conservation Area and Exe Valley.

The site is located on the edge of Colyton Conservation Area and is enclosed by existing buildings in King Street and Sidmouth Road to the east, with Sidmouth Road and the cemetery to the south and west. There are a number of listed buildings within the Conservation Area, but only the Methodist Chapel on King Street adjoins the north-eastern part of the site. Existing dwellings on Sidmouth Road are identified as having important historic frontages with good period details.

Planning

Homes England?s mixed-use scheme has been informed by site constraints, opportunities and thorough public consultation as detailed in the outline planning application (ref: 18/1850/MOUT). Homes England?s proposal (ref: 18/1850/MOUT) includes for:

- Demolition of existing buildings
- 72 no. new homes
- 20% affordable housing
- 6 no. B1 light industrial units
- 0.52 hectares of high-quality public open space
- The refurbishment of the cottage building adjacent to Sidmouth Road

A decision to grant Outline Planning Permission (all matters reserved for later approval except for access) subject to planning conditions and the S106 agreement was unanimously approved by East Devon District Council (EDDC) Members on 3rd Sept 2019.
Homes England are committed to the delivery of a minimum of 20% affordable housing at this site in order to deliver on our mission to improve affordability in the areas of greatest need and assist in meeting the evidenced shortfall of affordable housing in the Parish of Colyton. Homes England has therefore committed to the provision of 20% affordable housing as part of a S106 Agreement. The draft planning conditions and S106 agreement are available via the dataroom.