Somerset’s growing market town of Somerton is gearing up to complete a major housing development as plans for the final phase of Somerton Mead have been given the go-ahead. Bloor Homes South West has been working on the construction of the Somerton Mead housing project, set to include a total of 140 homes located between Bancombe Road and Bradley Hill Lane in Somerton’s north-west.
Following the completion of the initial phase, comprising 71 homes, the second phase, which will see the delivery of 59 homes at the northern end of the site, was approved by Somerset Council earlier in the year. Now, the council has granted approval for the final ten homes within the development along with the construction of a vital pedestrian link connecting the new homes to the town’s primary school.
The second and third phases of the Somerton Mead project faced significant delays due to the ongoing phosphates crisis, necessitating additional measures to protect the Somerset Levels and Moors. To mitigate this, a range of solutions have been explored, including the fallowing of agricultural land to generate phosphate credits, enhancements to water treatment facilities, and the establishment of new wetlands.
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In this case, Bloor Homes has acquired phosphate credits to fund off-site mitigation, generated by the fallowing of farmland in the Blackdown Hills national landscape, a former area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). Additionally, none of the ten homes in the third phase, situated at the north-eastern corner of the site, can be occupied until Wessex Water completes the upgrade of the waste water treatment plant on Barpool Lane to the north of the town, anticipated to be finished by the end of 2025.
The approved plans, which also include a pedestrian link leading to King Ina Church of England Academy on Northfield, were sanctioned by the council’s planning officers exercising their delegated powers, rather than going through a public decision by its planning committee south, responsible for major applications within the former South Somerset area. Planning officer Colin Begeman emphasized the sustainable location of the site with access to various services and facilities and the minimal adverse impact, stating that the benefits of adding ten dwellings in this sustainable location outweigh any negative effects.
Somerton has experienced considerable housing expansion over the last decade, including the Northfield development of 133 homes near the Somerton Mead site, the Patch Meadows site comprising 150 homes on the B3153 Langport Road, and the Buttercross Meadows development of 59 homes on Cartway Lane. Furthermore, the council is set to make a decision in 2025 regarding plans for an additional 16 homes on the former King Ina infants school site located near the town’s fire station.