Last week the planning application for a housing development next to the Moorland Hall at Wheddon Cross was submitted – the culmination of a project first mooted in 2018. The development consists of 9 affordable homes (of which 3 may be for purchase and 6 for rent) and 7 open market houses restricted as principal residences (which means that they are not available as second homes or holiday lets). The proposal went before the Parish Council who rejected it due to concerns about site management and disruption during the construction phase. It will now go before the National Park as the planning authority. There were also concerns that the proposed affordable dwellings aren’t suitable for those working in the rural community.
As a measure of local need in Cutcombe, the last vacancy in existing affordable housing stock was in 2021 and there were 42 bids for it. There are currently 15 households with connections to Cutcombe registered on Homefinder – the data base that those registering to be considered for affordable rental housing need to sign up to. Colin McDonald the local housing enabler for Exmoor thinks this is the tip of the iceberg as the data base requires a lot of paperwork so many don’t use it. If the Dunkery View application is approved, it will bring forward the largest amount of affordable housing on a single site on Exmoor for many years.
View the Dunkery View Farm planning application here.
