Residents of Evercreech, a small village near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, are gearing up for a renewed fight against plans to build 40 new homes adjacent to an active pig farm.
In April 2024, Rubix Strategic Ltd. submitted proposals to develop 40 homes on a site along the B3081 Prestleigh Road. However, Somerset Council’s planning committee east, responsible for major applications in the former Mendip area, rejected the plans twice—first in August 2025, then again three months later.
Undeterred, the developer has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, which could overturn the council’s decision by the end of the year.
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The proposed site lies on Prestleigh Road’s northern side, within walking distance of a former Greencore factory. Earlier plans for 118 homes, commercial space, and a community hub on that land were refused on appeal in July 2024. Prior to Rubix’s submission, M7 Planning Ltd. had proposed 56 homes and a convenience store there, but withdrew their application in June 2023.
Access to the new homes would be from Prestleigh Road, with most properties clustered near Maesdown Road. Importantly, 12 of the 40 homes will be affordable, aligning with the council’s target of 30% affordable housing for developments exceeding 10 units within Mendip.
To offset environmental concerns, local farmland will be taken out of active use, and new woodland planted near the site to avoid increasing phosphates in the sensitive Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.
Notably, this site is not designated for development in either the Mendip Local Plan Part I (approved in 2014) or Part II (approved in 2021 and later revised following a judicial review).
The planning committee’s refusal was based on two main factors: the site’s close proximity to the pig farm on Watery Lane, which was deemed unsuitable for future residents; and the development’s effect on open countryside and agricultural land, as it lies outside Evercreech’s development boundary.
Councillor Barry Clarke criticized the proposal in November 2025, stating, “If anyone here went and actually talked to a farmer, and said: ‘I’m thinking of buying 80 metres from your farm,’ I think he would laugh at you. The minimum distance you would want to be away is 200 metres. This is most unacceptable – it’s an awful application.”
Rubix has requested the appeal be heard via a public inquiry rather than written submissions, though this decision is pending by the Planning Inspectorate.
Representations can be submitted to the inspector referencing case number 6009482 at www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk.
A spokesperson for OG Group, representing the developer, emphasized the pressing need for housing: “It is common ground that the council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of housing. The benefits the appeal scheme will deliver are substantial and the need for new homes is compelling.”