Conclusion

The intention of this Village Design Statement is not to recommend that no further development take place in Lympstone, nor to suggest that any future building should be in a pastiche style. The status quo is not an option.

However, if Lympstone is to remain a special place, alterations and new building should respect its particular character. In the case of old buildings, this means that the existing proportions and materials should be observed. Lympstone derives its character from individuality and variety, and new building in the 21^st century should continue this tradition. Stock housing estates by developers are not appropriate, and nor are architectural details from chain stores that sell the same bland design all over the country.

There are many examples of the ways in which modern buildings can respect the character of older ones, without resorting to feeble imitation. In Exeter, the Shilhay estate, a large housing development of the 1970s, was a refreshing departure from earlier public housing stereotypes. It is clearly modern, and yet it suggests the character of the nearby Quay, with its use of grey slate and red brick, the variety of its grouping, with staggered terraces broken by narrow alleys and well landscaped garage courts, and the different heights and pitches of its roof line. More recently, the housing grouped around the new Maritime Museum in Falmouth bears a similar sympathetic relationship to its dockside surroundings, with imaginative use of wooden weather-boarding and slate-hung surfaces.

Lympstone would benefit enormously from an equally imaginative response from developers to the character of the existing village.

It is not within the remit of this report to make recommendations about social policy. Only a Village Plan, which would have to be an initiative by the Parish Council, could do that. But it is worth saying that the obvious and often-suggested need for affordable housing within Lympstone could fit appropriately into a village-scape of high density cottages of varying sizes.

The many people who have contributed to and commented on this survey of Lympstone all agree that it is a special place. All of them, whether born and bred in the village, long-time residents or even the sometimes derided newcomers, share a common interest in making sure that its character is not lost, at a time when there is great pressure for development.

Cont

CCarter 3/3/4