Villagers packed a public meeting last week to deliver a resounding no to further homes on a housing estate they say was never meant to get so large.

Grevan Ashmont Retirement has applied for outline permission to build "circa" 25 retirement homes on land immediately north of the Canes Orchard estate in Brixton. Details of the exact design and layout would be the subject of a later reserved matters application.

The land is part of Venn Farm, which is owned by South Hams district councillor Basil Cane.

The application, if approved could bring the eventual number of homes on the Canes Orchard development as high as 115, once all have been built.

But residents have hit out at yet more homes on the site, calling the plans "ridiculous" and saying life on the estate is already "unbearable" thanks to construction traffic.

Brixton Parish Council called an extraordinary meeting last Monday to hear the views of residents on this latest application. The event was extremely well attended, and followed a site meeting last week that also saw a good turnout of concerned villagers.

Having heard residents’ views, parish councillors voted unanimously to send BPC’s objection to SHDC.

Brixton parish will eventually be home to a significant chunk of the vast new town of Sherford, and as such many residents feel they are doing more than their fair share towards helping planning authority South Hams District Council meet its housing targets. Many also felt this application, for bungalow/chalet bungalow homes, age restricted to 55 and older, allotments, public open space and a visitor car park would eat into a promised ’green buffer’ between Sherford and the village.

Chairman Cllr Michael Wills began by summarising a letter sent to BPC by the applicant following the site meeting, addressing some concerns raised. This stated a new illustrative layout had been produced putting the new homes further from neighbouring Cherry Tree Drive, and pointed out that Devon Highways were not objecting and the junction with the main A379 had sufficient capacity for the extra traffic that would be generated. This drew laughs from the crowd.

Cllr Wills then invited the public to give their views on the various issues they saw with the plans.

There were concerns raised over added pressure on the drainage and sewer system, with a resident of Canes Orchard saying he had already experienced blocked drains.

Another man called further development of the site "just so excessive, it’s utterly ridiculous". Many present pointed out that the emerging Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan specifies Brixton needs just 10 new homes in the 20 year plan period.

And one woman noted that an extensive, up-to-date housing need survey carried out for Brixton’s neighbourhood development plan had found not one person asking for a retirement bungalow.

There were concerns over the junction with the A379 and its proximity to the mini roundabout at the top of Steer Point Road, as well as scepticism over an ecological report. One woman said she was inundated with slow worms in her garden in Cherry Tree Drive, and had photos to prove it.

The existing roads within the development were also said to have very narrow pavements, making it hard for people with pushchairs to negotiate. A Canes Orchard resident added the amount of construction traffic on the estate was making life "unbearable" for residents.

Claims in the application that it would not lead to an increase in peak time traffic were also pooh poohed by the assembled villagers. Many pointed out that over-55s may continue to work for years, and might also be involved in ferrying grandchildren around, and going out to access services.

One woman said the development was unsustainable due to the lack of facilities like a doctor or dentist surgery in Brixton.

Others simply felt the wider site, which had been allocated for housing development by SHDC, already had enough homes built and awaiting construction. One man said: "This is the fifth application. If they are looking at further development, shouldn’t we at least wait until we can see the houses that are yet to be built.

"The whole thing is rolling on like a rollercoaster, and it feels like we’re being steamrollered along with it."

A woman said: "Not being rude to Mr Cane, but he’s just putting more and more land up for sale and it’s getting out of control. I think they should just stop for a while until everything’s been built."

Another resident said the application appeared to have been "hastily cobbled together" to get planning permission before the JLP could be adopted. The plan will set out where and how much housing is needed.

He added: "How easily they make concessions now, but what are we going to end up with?"

One woman who had attended the site visit said the applicant had given an "amazing" presentation, and even made changes to make it more acceptable to residents. She continued: "I honestly believe if we’d asked him to build the houses with Mickey Mouse ears on, he would have agreed, to get us on side."

One woman had looked into Grevan Ashmont Retirement, and discovered the company had only been incorporated on July 11. However, she claimed it was effectively the same company as Adpad, which successfully applied for permission to build phase three of Canes Orchard, with the same directors.

A Canes Orchard resident said: “We bought our property in phase 1 on the understanding that it would be a small, rural village development. It’s now not. I’ve got two kids and they love riding around on their bikes outside, I actually have to sit in the road and watch them because of the level of traffic.

And he added: "I would be looking for compensation for some of the high price we paid for the home, I do feel we were missold it by David Wilson Homes and possibly the council.”

The resident also felt property values were being negatively affected by subsequent development. He said he had tried to sell his house, and got an asking price offer, but his buyers withdrew after seeing “all the bad press online” about Canes Orchard.

Another neighbour had taken a long time to sell their house, and he estimated prices were about at break even level compared to when he had bought.

Many asked how they could make their objections heard by SHDC, and said they felt their views on previous applications had been ignored by the authority.

Parish councillors summarised their views on the application, which accorded with those of parishioners.

In a letter Cllr Roger Wakeham said it was "difficult to accept more of Brixton’s heritage being buried under concrete", while Cllr Wills said the total number of homes on the whole site was "way over this village’s requirements".

Cllr Helen Williams said that experience of working with Sherford showed it was necessary to fight very hard to protect the interests of residents.

Parish council chairman Cllr Liz Hitchins reported she was in contact with SHDC about the fact Brixton only had one district councillor to represent them in this matter, given Cllr Cane could not be involved in deciding the application.

Until May, Cllr Cane sat on SHDC’s development management committee, responsible for deciding big planning applications. Because of his position as landowner, this and all previous applications must be decided by the committee to ensure transparency, although he would not have been able to take any part in the debate or decision making in the meetings.

David Wilson Homes said plans for future development were made clear to all buyers from the outset.