A Somerset-based developer, Summerfield Developments, has confirmed that it has no plans to expand its coastal housing estates beyond current projects in the town of Watchet. The company is actively building the Liddymore Park development, which will include 250 homes near Knights Templar Community First School at the southern end of Liddymore Road.
Previously, Summerfield delivered the Channel View estate, consisting of 73 homes located between Doniford Road and the West Somerset Railway line, offering views of the Bristol Channel. While the design of Channel View allows for potential eastward expansion if future housing demand arises, the company’s managing director, Ed Khodabandehloo, has made it clear that they will focus solely on completing Liddymore Park, which recently secured detailed planning permission.
The Channel View estate was granted planning approval in August 2014, and 25 of its homes were provided at an affordable rate over three years. Though the infrastructure, such as Helwell Street and the spine road, could allow for extending into adjacent fields, there are currently no intentions to develop these areas further.
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Meanwhile, nearby developments are progressing independently. Edenstone Homes obtained permission in May 2024 for 139 homes south of the Channel View estate, near Normandy Avenue, expanding Watchet’s built-up area eastward. However, this development does not involve Summerfield, which remains committed to its existing projects.
Neither the Channel View estate nor the neighboring fields were included in the West Somerset Local Plan. In contrast, Edenstone’s site is designated as a “country and wildlife site.” The Local Plan only allocates two sites in Watchet for new housing: Parsonage Farm, with proposals for 230 homes, and Cleeve Hill, where plans for 136 homes and a coastal road realignment were rejected in early 2023.
Somerset Council is currently preparing a new Local Plan to replace the inherited plans from previous authorities. Public consultation is scheduled to begin in April 2026, with a subsequent round in October 2027. The finalized plan will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in January 2028 and is expected to be officially adopted by February 2029.