Residents of Evercreech, a small village near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, are gearing up for a renewed campaign to stop the construction of 40 new homes adjacent to a working pig farm.
In April 2024, Rubix Strategic Ltd. submitted plans for the development on Prestleigh Road (B3081). However, Somerset Council’s planning committee for the former Mendip area has twice rejected the proposal—first in August 2025, and again three months later.
Now the developer has appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, putting the decision back into play with a potential outcome expected before the end of the year.
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The development site lies north of Prestleigh Road, close to the former Greencore factory site where previous plans for 118 homes along with commercial and community facilities were rejected on appeal in July 2024. Earlier, a proposal for 56 homes and a convenience store was withdrawn in June 2023.
The new homes would be accessed via Prestleigh Road, mainly clustered near existing properties on Maesdown Road. Of the 40 homes planned, 12 would be classified as affordable housing, meeting the council’s requirement of 30% affordable units for developments exceeding ten homes in the area.
To address environmental concerns, especially regarding phosphates affecting the Somerset Levels and Moors, local farmland will be retired from active use and replaced with new woodland planting nearby.
Importantly, the site is not designated for development in either the Mendip Local Plan Part I (approved 2014) or Part II (approved 2021), further complicating approval prospects.
The planning committee’s refusal hinges on two primary issues:
- The proximity to the pig farm on Watery Lane poses an unsuitable environment for future residents.
- The development would lead to the loss of open countryside and agricultural land, as the site lies outside Evercreech’s established development boundary.
Councillor Barry Clarke (Conservative, Mendip Central and East) voiced sharp criticism in November 2025, stating: “If anyone here talked to a farmer and asked about buying property just 80 metres from their farm, they’d be laughed at. A safe distance would be at least 200 metres. This proposal is unacceptable.”
Rubix Strategic Ltd. has requested the appeal proceed as a public inquiry instead of by written submissions, though the Planning Inspectorate has yet to confirm the format.
Members of the public wishing to make formal representations can do so by visiting www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk with case reference number 6009482.
A spokesperson for OG Group, representing the developer, emphasized the housing need: “It is common ground that the council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of housing. The benefits delivered by this scheme are substantial, and the need for new homes is compelling.”