EAST Devon District Council has admitted it faces a "dilemma" in working out the level of future development across the region.

As previously reported in the Echo, campaigners including residents and councillors, have voiced fresh concerns that planning officers are recommending only a "slight reduction" in the level of development which will be permitted across East Devon over the next 15 years.

The Local Development Framework (LDF) document, which set out where more than 16,400 houses could be built from 2006 until 2026, was met with public outcry during the consultation process last year.

District councillors on the LDF Panel are debating the scheme over a series of six meetings. A revised document will be drawn up by officers by early autumn.

But the agenda for Tuesday's second LDF Panel meeting recommended that the council plans to provide for about 15,000 dwellings over the 2006 to 2026 period – 1,400 less than what was previously suggested.

But despite widespread fears that the level of development is still being pitched too high, a spokesperson for the council has hit back saying it faces a "dilemma" as it "tries to tackle the backlog of affordable housing in the district amid opposition to all but minimal new development".

The Countryside Alliance has recently revealed that the council has only provided 66 per cent of the affordable housing identified for 2010/11 by a housing needs survey conducted in 2007.

Chairman of the LDF Panel, Councillor Mike Allen said: "This underlines the problem that councils like us face and shows us just how hard we have to work to convince the public that a degree of growth is not only healthy but essential.

"EDDC has come in for a lot of flack in recent months from people who frankly wish to see very little new development in the district and do not seem to care whether our young people and families are able to afford homes to enable them to stay in the area where they grew up."

But Independent councillor for Ottery St Mary, Roger Giles, who spoke at the meeting, slammed the recommendation. "The LDF Core Strategy was a thoroughly discredited piece of work," he said. "Not least because all the meetings were held in private and the minutes were not made available to the public at the time.

"There was massive opposition to the proposed housing figures from the general public and also from many statutory consultees concerned about the damage that would be wreaked on our beautiful countryside.

"The proposal agreed on Tuesday was 15,000 dwellings at least so I doubt that the final proposal will be different from the LDF original proposal.

"The majority of the LDF Panel members have shown their total disregard for the people of East Devon and their clearly expressed views.

"Of course we need some housing, especially for our younger and less well-off residents.

"But 15,000 or more is far too many and is unjustifiable."