Preserve the integrity of the Wolborough Fen SSSI

Aim: Raising funds to preserve the integrity of the Wolborough Fen SSSI, as laid down in law by the Secretary of State in 2020.

In 2020, following a lengthy planning appeal, the Secretary of State for Housing granted outline permission for the NA3 site in Newton Abbot, subject to strict pre-commencement conditions to ensure the protection of the adjacent Wolborough Fen SSSI. Since early 2025, Vistry Homes and Baker Estates have proceeded with development on the NA3 Wolborough site that has ignored these legal obligations, putting the Fen at risk. We are raising funds to get a barrister's opinion to stop unlawful development.  

In spring 2025, works commenced at Wolborough that should not have been started without Natural England signing off Condition 20. On the 28th of April, Vistry Homes and contractor Champion started further work in Stray Park Meadow, itself a County Wildlife Site (CWS) which had been refused planning permission by TDC in December 2024.  Local Councillors lobbied the Teignbridge planning department for a stop notice to this and other works. It took residents entering the site and facing down the diggers on the 29th April to halt the works. Eventually TDC issued a 59 day stop notice.

NA3 in Newton Abbot is the most controversial potential development site in the history of Teignbridge District Council (TDC). The iconic farmland and 'rolling fields' are adjacent to the ancient Wolborough Fen, a protected site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The farmland provides the vital groundwater supply for the ancient and unique habitat that is entrusted to the Devon Wildlife Trust and protected by Natural England. It is widely accepted that interfering with this supply would damage or destroy this unique ecosystem, which boasts plants seen in only a handful of places in the South West. In 2019, community groups challenged applications to build 1200 houses on the farmland. The Planning Inspector concluded that the wellbeing of the Wolborough Fen is "the over-riding concern", leading to then Secretary of State Robert Jenrick laying down clear protections for the Fen. These conditions require detailed hydrological surveying of the NA3 site and ensure no development can take place until it can be demonstrated that the integrity of the SSSI will not be adversely affected. A key protection is Condition 20, which has to be signed off by Natural England. The statutory body has not signed off on this condition and has stated its 'expressed ongoing concerns regarding the impact of groundwater on the designated features of Wolborough Fen SSSI.'

We are raising funds to gain an independent legal opinion to demonstrate to TDC planners and the developers that any further works on the site need to be halted and hydrogeological survey work covering seasonal fluctuations, as required by the outline permission and the development's Design Code, must be undertaken to conclude how the Wolborough Fen SSSI can be protected, as laid down by the Secretary of State. Back this crowdfunder to raise funds for the Wolborough Residents’ Association to engage Buxtons Solicitors and a barrister to provide this legal advice.

The campaign to preserve the Wolborough Fen has gained national coverage with The Guardian listing the SSSI amongst the most precious nature in England under threat of destruction from development. The Wolborough Fen is number 5 in the Guardian list of 'jewels of English nature at risk' and can be read online here and seen below.

NA3 wildlife photos by David@theHALLofEINAR