Plans to build 20 new homes have been refused on the grounds that they would cause "substantial harm" to the village and the surrounding countryside.

Lochailort Investments Ltd., the firm behind the Fortescue Fields development in Norton St. Philip , put forward plans for 20 new homes to the west of its existing development in the heart of the village.

Mendip District Council has refused the proposals, arguing the plans amounted to building in the open countryside and criticising a lack of information about flood prevention and the protection of wildlife.

A decision is still pending on revised plans for phase two of the Fortescue Fields development, comprising 27 new homes across two parcels of land bordered by Mackley Lane and the B3110 Frome Road.

The site lies between the Church Mead Recreation Ground and the country park with circular paths leading off from the phase one site.

Access would be from Fortescue Street, with the homes being split into two sections at the eastern and western edges of the site, leaving a "view through the countryside" from the centre of the village.

The council refused permission through the delegated powers of its planning officers, rather than through a public decision by its planning board.

Julie Reader-Sullivan, the council's head of service for planning and growth, identified six reasons for refusing the plans:

• The site lies in open countryside and is therefore "unsuitable for further housing growth" within the existing form of the village
• The development would "fundamentally change the landscape character of the site and the form of the village", leading to "substantial harm" to the conservation area and local heritage assets like the Church of St. Philip and St. James and The George Inn
• The developer has provided "insufficient information" about how the risk of flooding would be mitigated
• The plans did not contain "adequate mitigation measures" to counter the loss of trees and hedgerows
• The plans contain insufficient protection against protected species, including bats and badgers
• The developer has not provided sufficient financial contributions towards local education, affordable homes or public open space

Councillor Barbi Lund, whose Rode and Norton St. Philip ward includes the site, said there had been "no meaningful engagement" between the applicant and local residents, including the parish council, since the plans were put forward.

She added: "These additional dwellings would not constitute proportionate growth. Norton St. Philip which has seen the greatest proportionate increase in its housing stock of all of the Mendip villages."

In addition to these objections, a petition against the plans attracted more than 50 signatures from local residents.

Lochailort Investments has not yet indicated whether it intends to appeal the decision.

The Planning Inspectorate will shortly make a decision on separate plans for 30 homes at the southern end of the B3110, which were refused by the council in May 2021.

The council is also expected to shortly make a decision on plans for 27 homes and commercial space at the Bell Hill Garage site on the A366 Bell Hill in the centre of the village.