What does the future hold for site of East Yelland Power Station in North Devon?

  • Watch Richard Lawrence's report

The future of a controversial plan to build homes, a cafe and other facilities on the site of a former power station will now be decided by a government inspector.

Developers Yelland Quay Limited want to build 250 houses on the banks of the River Taw in North Devon.

But campaigners say the site, which is not far from Barnstaple, should be returned back to a nature reserve.

North Devon District Council has received more than 900 objections to the housing plans, with many people criticising the environmental impact.

The estuary land borders an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) - but it is perhaps best known as being the site of a power station from the 1950s to 1980s.

An architect's impression of part of the development. Credit: Awcockward Partnership

Steve Crowther from the Devon branch of Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) described the plans as a "very substantial development".

"It's essentially the size of a large holiday village, right on the banks of the river," he said.

"It's five times the size of the village I'm sitting in now which is called Heanton Punchardon which is on the other side of the estuary and overlooks the site.

"It is a very major change to the Taw-Torridge Estuary."

The plans were overwhelmingly rejected by North Devon District Council in June 2021 but a public inquiry has been launched after the developers appealed.

As well as housing, the proposal includes shops, cafes, restaurants, offices, healthcare facilities and a public car park.

The remains of the derelict power station would be removed.

The developers say the 20-acre Waterfront scheme would deliver a new social and economic hub for the area, alongside high-quality new homes.