Many people see development as being a good thing, as being something that means “South Molton is going places” – as a former councillor said- but it very much has its downsides.

This picture, taken from Great Hele Lane, shows the anaerobic digester being built. It actually looks worse in real-life than in the photograph. The site is to the right where the crane is.

The Community College is going to be rebuilt in front of the current buildings.   The old building is a two storey building, its replacement will be three stories.

The photograph below shows the current view from Alswear Old Road to South Molton. Imagine what it will look like once the new, taller community college is built. The current community college is the white structures running from left to right. The new, taller, building will be built in front of that.

The next picture is a view of Alswear Old Road looking north towards South Molton. I was able to stand in the road to take the picture because there’s very little traffic. The local plan talks about a western extension road joining Alswear Old Road just behind where I took the picture.

This means widening Alswear Old Road, and will mean the loss of the hedge rows on both sides.

So, is development good or bad!