Torbay Council could well be accused of hypocrisy after it was announced this week that it was protecting 440 acres of it's land from the threat of development. The move entails transferring land over to the control of Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust on a long term lease.
The sites include Scadson Woods, Brunel Woods, Great Hill and Watcombe Woods. In addition, there are plans to "protect and improve these special places".
Meanwhile Kingskerswell faces the prospect of losing it's identity due to pending planning applications that seek to build up to 600 new homes. The construction of the bypass would open up new land for development and help resolve outstanding access issues for sites already earmarked by developers.
Torbay is seen as the main beneficiary from the proposed bypass, yet shows no regard for the environmental damage that will be done to area's like Kerswell Down. The proposed route of the bypass would destroy 4 listed County Wildlife Sites and a fifth prospective site, so whilst Torbay celebrates protecting it's woodland, the fate of our local beauty spots has yet to be decided!
