Up to 61 new homes could soon be built near Stanchester Academy, a secondary school located on the western edge of Yeovil, Somerset, nestled between the villages of Montacute and Stoke-sub-Hamdon along the A3088 Cartgate Link Road.
The Acorn Property Group, working alongside East Stoke Farm Ltd., has submitted a planning application to develop a housing estate just north of the school, adjacent to its existing playing fields. The site currently consists of a single agricultural field bordered by the school and the A3088, with access planned from an unnamed road to the east.
Somerset Council is expected to review and decide on the application by early spring 2026.
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Of the proposed 61 homes, 21 will be designated as affordable housing, meeting the council’s requirement of 35% affordable units for developments of ten or more homes within the former South Somerset area. In addition, a pedestrian pathway will connect the new development directly to the school, and improvements will be made to an existing footpath linking residents to local amenities in Montacute.
A spokesperson for the developer’s agent, Greenslade Taylor Hunt, stated, “The development is sustainably located and well connected to local services. It will provide substantial economic, social, and environmental benefits, particularly by addressing the local housing crisis with 61 new dwellings, including 21 affordable homes. The project is designed to avoid significant negative impacts on the environment, ecology, drainage, flood risk, highway safety, residential amenity, heritage assets, and the visual or landscape character of the area.”
Acorn Property Group, based in Bristol, has a strong track record delivering homes across eastern Somerset, including the Old Printworks development, which added 159 homes to Frome. They recently received permission for 60 homes on Brewham Road in Bruton as of November 2024. Additionally, the developer reportedly acquired land near Cricket St. Thomas Golf Club close to Chard to potentially build 30 homes, though no planning application has been submitted for that site yet.
A decision from Somerset Council on the Stanchester Academy adjacent development is anticipated early next year.