The delivery of a much-needed road junction connecting a major Somerset housing development to the local railway station has been postponed, prompting concerns among residents forced to navigate an industrial estate to access key town amenities.
Taylor Wimpey Exeter is currently building the Wool Gardens development on the Crewkerne Key Site, which will ultimately feature 635 homes, a 66-bed care home, and commercial spaces nestled between the A30 Yeovil Road and the A356 Station Road.
Initially, Taylor Wimpey committed to completing a new signal-controlled junction on Station Road before 55 homes were occupied. This junction, forming part of a planned link road, would provide safer and more direct access to the town centre and railway station, situated in neighbouring Misterton parish.
READ MORE: Disused Farm Transformed into a Thriving Mental Health Haven
READ MORE: The Paradox of Yeovil: Affordable Homes with Rapid Sales in Somerset’s Cheapest Market
However, an agreement with Somerset Council now allows the developer to delay this junction until nearly 200 homes— including all 110 homes in the southern section of the development—are built and occupied. The junction’s design was approved along with the overall link road plans when outline planning permission was granted in May 2020.
This delay means residents currently must traverse Blacknell Lane Industrial Estate to reach Station Road, a route lacking continuous pavements and proper pedestrian facilities. The situation raises safety concerns as pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers share the same space in areas without adequate street lighting or accessible dropped kerbs.
Moreover, the junction is vital not only for residents but also for safe access to a forthcoming 66-bed care home by LNT Care Developments, which received planning permission in May 2024. Originally, roadworks were legally mandated to be finished before 55 southern homes were occupied, and the entire northern part of the link road, including a junction at Yeovil Road, was to be ready before any northern homes were occupied.
Now, the full completion of these highway improvements is deferred until 199 homes across the site are occupied. Until then, all residents must rely on the industrial estate routes, with no direct pedestrian path to the station, despite promotional claims touting a seven-minute walk.
Adam Garland, Somerset Council’s principal planning liaison officer, said updated traffic surveys from January 2024 supported the delay. According to the analysis, current traffic levels remain lower than those anticipated in previous models, indicating the postponement is manageable from a traffic standpoint.
Local advocacy group Space4Crewkerne has urged Taylor Wimpey and Somerset Council to improve Blacknell Lane to ensure pedestrian safety until the link road is complete. Julie Chant, a founder of the group, highlighted the lack of continuous sidewalks, insufficient lighting, and missing dropped kerbs that compromise accessibility and safety for walkers and cyclists.
She stated, “Without these improvements, how can we ensure pedestrian safety? Promoting these homes as a short walk from the station is misleading without safe, direct pedestrian routes.”
A planning committee decision on the detailed designs for the remaining 525 homes on the Wool Gardens site is anticipated by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, construction of the new care home on site is expected to start soon after LNT Care Developments completes its 66-bed facility on A358 Furnham Road in Chard, which began construction in July 2024.