New town hit by housing downturn

The new town was designed to include sustainable homes

Plans to build a new town of 3,000 homes in East Devon have been hit by the economic downturn.

East Devon Council said some of the construction plans for new homes in Cranbrook had "paused".

However, at the same time it was announced that Cranbrook would still be getting funding for its own railway station.

The council welcomed a £10m grant from the South West Regional Development Agency for transport infrastructure.

Market impact

In a statement the council said: "One has to recognise that the change in the housing market will impact on the delivery plans.

"Indeed, some of the house builders have paused in their construction programmes. Cranbrook will not be immune from this wider context."

The homes are meant to meet the Government's sustainability requirements. A third of them are supposed to be affordable.

The town's new rail station is expected to cost £3.5m.

The Regional Development Agency funding also includes £6.5m to improve junctions 29 and 30 of the M5. It is hoped this will benefit Cranbrook, the proposed Skypark business park and science park in East Devon and new housing in Exeter.

Money has also been set aside to tackle flooding in Taunton Deane in Somerset.

The RDA claimed that the M5 junction improvements would open up 75 hectares of land for business use, which could create up to 7,500 jobs in the area.