A small Somerset village has won a fight on two fronts to prevent 75 "harmful" new homes from being built.

Within the space of just over a year, Mendip District Council refused permission for two sizeable developments within the village of Beckington near Frome – namely 45 homes north of Warminster Road and 30 homes south of Great Dunns Close.

The site's respective potential developers – Stonewood Partnership and Redrow Homes – both lodged appeals against the council's decisions in June, which the Planning Inspectorate conducted through written representations, rather than staging public inquiries.

The inspectorate has now ruled in the council's favour in both cases, arguing the developments amount to "harmful encroachment" into the countryside and would exacerbate existing sewage issues within the village.

The two sites lie at opposite ends of the village, though both are in close proximity to the crucial A36 between Frome and Bath.

The Stonewood Partnership site lies is currently bordered by the recently-completed Shepard's Way development and the village's tennis courts.

In addition to delivering 45 new homes, the Badminton-based developer had promised to create pedestrian access to Shepard's Way as well as preserving the existing woodland between the site and Goose Street.

The council refused permission for these plans through the delegated power of its planning officers in June 2021, arguing that the proposals would see "disproportionate growth" that would put strain on the village's existing facilities, as well as creating a "harmful" impact on the village's rural character.

The Redrow Homes site, by contrast, lies south of the existing homes on Great Dunns Close, with a green buffer being included to separate the new houses from Goose Street.

Previous plans to develop the site have been refused twice before, with the council rejecting proposals for 32 homes in February 2016 and turning down a separate proposal for 28 homes in April 2017 (with the Planning Inspectorate upholding this decision at appeal in July 2018).

The council's planning board voted to refuse permission in October 2021 – less than two months before approving the Local Plan Part II, which allocates the site for up to 28 new homes.

A judicial review into the legality of the Local Plan Part II – specifically the additional homes it allocates in villages north of Frome – will be heard by the High Court on Tuesday (October 18).

Inspector Robert Parker visited both sites on August 22, and published his rulings shortly before the most recent meeting of the council's planning board on Wednesday (October 12).

Regarding the Stonewood Partnerships site, Mr Parker said the proposal was "disproportionate to the scale of Beckington" in light of the fact that the village had "already absorbed a significant amount of housing over a relatively short period".

He also referenced the lack of capacity at the Beckington Family Practice, whose attempted at expansion was voted by the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group in March 2020.

He said: "The premises is operating on many days at full room capacity, and this does not take account of the allocation within the Local Plan Part II for 28 dwellings at Great Dunns Close.

"The planned development would gift land to the surgery for expansion purposes, but this would not secure the extension itself. Neither would there be any financial contribution towards relocation of the surgery, in the event that this is deemed by the surgery to be the most viable option.

"There is no certainty that the necessary healthcare infrastructure would be delivered, or that the existing surgery premises could cope with the additional patient numbers in its present state."

Mr Parker also ruled the development would be "unsustainable" since it would result in children having to be transported out of the village to attend school, citing a lack of capacity at Beckington First School.

He said: "There is a high probability that the proposal would lead to Beckington First School being oversubscribed and children having to be transported to schools in other settlements.

"The scheme… would represent a harmful encroachment of urban form onto farmland at the edge of the settlement."

Regarding the Redrow site, Mr Parker references Beckinton's "long history of problems with its drainage system" – problems which the Somerset Rivers Authority will be addressed alongside Wessex Water in January 2023.

He said: "The experiences of those affected are unpleasant and they have a significant detrimental impact on quality of life, in addition to having public health implications.

"The proposed development would be increasing the volume of effluent in a sewer network which is already under pressure and the source of significant problems.

"Despite the investigations carried out to date, there can be no guarantee that the drainage improvement works will solve the issues.

"It therefore seems to me that it would be premature to grant planning permission for major development before the improvement works have been completed.

"Even if they had been carried out, there would need to be a period of evaluation to establish whether the works had been effective.

"Due to the history of flooding in Beckington, it is imperative that surface water can be handled without placing pressure on existing combined sewers."

Mr Parker also ruled that the development would "erode the rural backdrop" of the numerous listed buildings in that part of the village.

He concluded: "It would be impossible to mitigate the harm arising from the change in the character of the site."