Land in Cheddar earmarked for a new supermarket will become home to a housing development after a successful appeal.

Sainsbury's was granted permission in 2012 to build a new supermarket on the Steart Farm site in Cheddar – permission which has since expired.

The company subsequently put forward outline plans to build up to 60 houses on the site, claiming there is no demand for a shop in the area.

Sedgemoor District Council voted down the plans in March, arguing they went against the village's wishes to secure employment land.

But this decision has now been overturned by the Planning Inspectorate, meaning the big four supermarket can proceed with building the homes.

The site lies on the B3151 Lower New Road to the west of the existing Cheddar Business Park.

Sainsbury's took over the village's Budgens store on Roynon Way in 2016, and still operates a store from that location.

Supermarket spokeswoman Caroline Huett told the council's development committee on March 3 that the site was "surplus to our requirement" and had been marketed since 2015 without success.

She said at the time: "We wrote to 631 companies within a ten-mile radius of Cheddar, and found that the only serious interest was from house-builders."

Cheddar's neighbourhood plan, which was approved in a referendum in September 2018, identifies the Steart Farm site for future employment rather than residential development.

Councillor Paul Fineran – who represents Cheddar and Shipham – said keeping this site for employment would ensure future residents "do not have to commute to a significant extent".

Planning inspector David Wyborn visited the site on September 28, and published his report ahead of a virtual meeting of the council's development committee tomorrow (November 10).

He admitted the development would be "in conflict" with the Cheddar neighbourhood plan – but said the district council's Local Plan allowed the intended use of sites to be altered "where it can be demonstrated that there is no likelihood of a viable employment use".

He said: "I consider that the site has been appropriately marketed for a reasonable period and this evidence weighs in favour of the conclusion that there is little prospect of the site being developed for business use.

"This is not the only site that could deliver employment opportunities during the Cheddar neighbourhood plan period. It would not be premature to allow the use of the site for other purposes."

Sainsbury's has not indicated how soon it will bring forward more detailed proposals for the site.