Planning news in and around Frome this week

Applications put in to Mendip include:

Number 32 at Westover in Frome has applied to build a cantilevered first floor side extension. Details under Ref. No: 2022/1599/HSE

In a retrospective application Grange Farm on the Ridgeway in Nunney,  has applied for a change of use and conversion of barn into a one bedroomed home.

Under Ref: 2022/1462/FUL the application states: " With the barn no longer required for agricultural purposes the applicant decided to functionally utilise the building by converting it for residential use which will secure a viable future use of the barn. However, the applicants have proceeded without permission and now find themselves dealing with enforcement action." The application quotes the rural housing guidance which currently emphasises a need to promote sustainable development in rural areas to enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities.

Adding : "Planning policies should identify opportunities for villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support local services. "

Also in Nunney, 15 Sunnyhill on the Old Road, has applied to build a single-storey rear extension and garage. Ref. No: 2022/1592/HSE 

In Leigh on Mendip The Old Vicarage on Leigh Street has applied to build a greenhouse and potting shed. Ref. No: 2022/1594/HSE

There is also an application to approve details reserved by condition 3 - (External Facing Materials) on planning consent 2016/0623/FUL, which is the building of four detached dwellings and associated garages on Rossiter's Road in Frome.

Applications decided by Mendip this week include:

Approved, an application to build a first floor side extension, single storey rear extension and put a lean-to pitched roof over existing porch at 32 Mendip Drive in Frome.

Also approved, an application for single storey extensions to the front and rear of The Apple Garden in Buckland Dinham, along with converting an existing attached garage into accommodation.

Also approved, the building of a two storey side extension and the replacement of an existing garage at 77 Park Hill Drive in Frome.

In Beckington a new four bedroomed home with an annexe at 18 Warminster Road can go ahead, after planners approved the application.

And also in Beckington an application by Standerwick Court for new side and rear extensions to an outbuilding and landscaping work, has been approved.

And over in Shepton Mallet a new petrol station in the Cannard's Grave area ?

A car wash business on the southern approach to Shepton Mallet will soon be replaced by a petrol station after new plans were approved.

Peveril Securites Ltd. applied in July 2021 to build a new petrol station between the A37 Whitstone Hill and Church Lane in the Cannard's Grave area at the southern tip of the town.

The site, formerly known as the Wessex filling station, is currently occupied by the Gold Hand Car Wash business, which is owned by a local resident.

Mendip District Council has now approved plans for a new four-pump petrol station on the site, along with a jet wash facility and six electric vehicle charging points.

The site lies a short distance from Cannard's Grave roundabout, leading into the town centre, and on the main road linking Shepton Mallet to both Castle Cary (via the A371) and Yeovil (via the A37).

The petrol station site is deemed by the Environment Agency (EA) to be at low risk of flooding – though local resident Charlotte Lilley has disputed this.

She said: "Many residents have complained to the council regarding a request for flooding support in the area. In then autumn the area often sees flooding at this location.

"The brownfield site, which had previously not been cleared for years, provides valuable run-off for Church Lane, and is highly prone to flooding as a result."

Shepton Mallet Town Council recommended the plans be refused in August 2021, arguing that the plans would lead to an increase in traffic and create potential road safety issues.

Town clerk Paula Robertson said: "A 24-hour opening would have both noise and light impact on existing residents. A reduction in opening hours would be desirable.

"Concerns were expressed about the safety of traffic turning onto the forecourt – we would like there to be a no right-turn traffic restriction put in place.

"The proposed hedge between the site and Church Lane must be maintained and improved."

Somerset County Council's highways department, by contrast, opined that any increase in traffic as a result of the development "would not be severe".

The developer has not specified how many new jobs will be created once the new petrol station is up and running.