A recent development in the direction of a Devon Business Park Extension has been met with cautious optimism by local councils. The main concern is that the proposal, which involves the erection of a new mixed use commercial building on the site of an existing pavement park, could interfere with the provision of parking at the proposed extension site. As the UK’s leading supplier of outdoor leisure and activities, it is understandable that any plans that involve changes to this particular area of towns in order to provide more facilities for people to use should be carefully considered. As a result of the latest proposals, local councils have confirmed that they are open to the idea of the proposed changes being implemented in full. However, no decision has yet been taken as to when the proposed development will go ahead. It is expected that decisions will be made by the end of July.
Local residents have raised a number of concerns over the last few years regarding the viability of the plans. One of the main issues is that the majority of the planned developments are in areas which already have a high degree of deprivation. As a result many local residents expressed fears that the new developments would lead to further overcrowding in the centers of Devon. Despite this reassurances from the local councils, local residents have raised concerns that the proposals are not sufficiently flexible to meet their needs.
Another issue that local people raised was that the proposals are not the complete expression of local residents’ wishes. Despite the planning authority’s reassurances that they will consult with local people before going ahead with the development, many local people believe that they were let down by the initial stages of the planning process. Despite the many stages of consultation, the planning authority still has not taken into consideration certain issues such as the implications for the local rivers, flooding problems and the local woodland. Although the majority of local people who had first raised these issues have now received satisfactory answers, it is clear that there are still elements of concern. The fact that the developers chose to build the park on land which has a limited amount of access to the river is one example of how the original plan failed to take into account local concerns.
The original development plans also failed to take into account the impact of the development on the surrounding area. It is important to remember that the entire area is highly dependent on tourism and is home to a large number of businesses. Many local people have concerns that the planned development could result in lost jobs and a reduction in the amount of money that the town earns. This would have a negative impact on the local economy and could lead to more people moving out of Devon and into nearby counties. It is important to remember that the majority of visitors to the Town Park come to see the giant slides and water parks, rather than work. This suggests that the majority of the people who come to the area for leisure and business reasons are unaffected by the park development.
Over the last few years, Devon has endured what some local people have described as an “empire of steel” with a growing number of steel companies setting up shop there. There has been much criticism of the levels of planning that has gone into such developments and some residents have even complained that the planning authorities have become increasingly liberal in their guidelines. Concerns have been raised over the number of trees that will be removed in order to make the land more useful. There is also concern that woodland which will be lost as a result of the development will not be replaced. It is hoped that when the planning watchdog reviews the future of the park, it will look at the extent of local people’s concerns and take them into account.
The success of the Devon Business Park Extension will hopefully provide the local people with a means of ensuring that they are kept in business. It is hoped that more shops will open in this area and the new development will bring both new and old jobs to the area. This should provide a sustainable economic growth for residents of Devon. It is hoped that the success of the project will encourage other local business people to move to the region and increase the amount of commerce that occurs within our towns and cities.