An appeal has been formally submitted to allow the construction of up to 24 new homes near Glastonbury Tor, despite a recent planning refusal.
Elan Homes has been developing the Avalon estate, a project of 60 homes located on Old Wells Road in Glastonbury, close to West Mendip Community Hospital. In June 2024, T. & A. Land Associates Ltd., based at the Marston Trading Estate in Frome, applied to build an additional 24 homes at the southern end of Cullen Farm Road, a primary road within the Avalon site.
In December 2024, Somerset Council’s planning committee east, responsible for major applications in the former Mendip district, voted to refuse permission. Their decision was grounded in the importance of preserving the remaining landscape surrounding the iconic Glastonbury Tor.
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Despite the refusal, the developer has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, which could reverse the decision before Christmas. The proposed development site was not included in the Mendip Local Plan Part II, approved in December 2021 and recently updated following a judicial review.
The land was identified during a ‘call for sites’ by Glastonbury Town Council as part of its early Neighbourhood Plan development. Initially, the proposal included 34 homes, but this was scaled down to 24 after discussions with Somerset Council’s planning department.
Of the 24 proposed homes, seven would be designated affordable housing, just under the 30 percent requirement for developments of ten or more homes in the former Mendip area.
Councillor Susanna Hart, whose Glastonbury division includes the site, commented in December 2024: “This is hugely unpopular in the town. It’s open pasture land situated near one of the most important historic sites in the southwest. Allowing this would be a travesty.”
Glastonbury is expected to see significant housing growth over the next decade, with several brownfield sites identified in the Mendip Local Plan Part II. One such site at Lowerside Lane saw approval for 90 homes on appeal in May 2023.
The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the appeal for Cullen Farm Road will be decided through written representations rather than an in-person inquiry. Interested parties can submit representations online by August 19 using case reference 3369032.