Plans for 675 new homes in Bridgwater approved for a second time

Plans for a major housing development on the western edge of Bridgwater have been approved for a second time.

Cavanna Homes (South West Ltd.) and Martin Grant Homes put forward plans to build 675 homes on the northern side of the A39 Quantock Road, not far from the town's cemetery.

The plans, which also include a new primary school and community venue, were approved by Sedgemoor District Council's development committee in October 2020.

The same committee voted on Tuesday morning (December 7) to approve amended plans for the site – despite concerns about the design of the homes and how infrastructure would be delivered.

The site lies between the busy A39 and the B3339 Wembdon Hill, a short distance from the Greenway Farm wedding venue.

The land directly opposite the site is also earmarked for development, with Persimmon Homes Severn Valley being awarded planning permission for 354 homes in March 2021.

The plans came back before the committee in Bridgwater on Tuesday morning (December 7) after the developers put forward changes to the pedestrian and cycling provision, as well as additional work to re-level the site of the school and the community venue.

Both of these sites will be delivered by third parties – the school by Somerset County Council, the community venue by a private contractor – once the developers have prepared the two locations, including the access points from the internal estate roads.

Councillor Stuart Kingham criticised the design of the proposed homes, arguing they did not fit in with the local vernacular.

He said: "The density of the houses looks rather heavy. The designs seem very basic – they don't seem to have any character. I always like to see chimneys on the houses."

Councillor Kathy Pearce concurred: "Given the high density of housing on site, it's disappointing that it's not eligible for 30 per cent affordable housing.

"This site would have leant itself to solar capture, but the design seems to be just the same old, with no thought to this particular site."

Due to viability issues involving the site, only 7.11 of the new properties will be affordable – the equivalent of just 48 dwellings.

Planning officer Nick Tate said the density of the site was lower than the Willstock development near the M5, and said the homes would "reflect regional characteristics."

Regarding a possible anthrax issue with the site, he added: "There's an anecdotal suggestion that there could have been diseased cattle buried there in the mid-1960s. A desk-based study took samples across elements of the site, and no evidence has been found."

Planning officer Dawn de Vries went on to say that insisting upon solar panels for the new homes would have driven up costs, meaning there would be less money available for other infrastructure.

She said: "The difficulty with incorporating any renewables is that there is a cost to it."

Councillor Mike Murphy was also critical of the amended plans, arguing the parking layout would not benefit electric vehicle owners.

He said: "I'm a little bit concerned about developments like this. We have a similar one in Highbridge where you have a massive open car park and open block parking.

"To my mind, this is not conducive to modern living. We are talking about moving towards electric car charging – will there be group charging when you have six vehicles between two buildings?

""I don't call this excellent planning – I call it detrimental to modern living, and certainly not thinking forward."

Ms de Vries said that electric vehicle charging points would be provided for all residents under the proposed planning conditions.

After around an hour-and-a-quarter's debate, the committee voted to approve the amended plans by eight votes to three.