A decision on building more than 200 new homes, a drive-thru and retail outlets in Frome has been pushed back following concerns about access to the site.

Silverwood (Ditcheat) Ltd has put forward plans to build 235 homes and several commercial units on land either side of Sandys Hill Lane, near the town's Sainsbury's supermarket.

Mendip District Council originally delayed a decision in late-May after an "administrative error" meant several bodies had not been able to give their views.

The council has now voted to defer any decision for up to three months so that better access proposals can be brought forward by the developer.

The council's planning board met virtually on Wednesday morning (June 10) to discuss the plans.

Tom Brill, who has lived on Little Keyford Lane for more than 20 years, warned the new houses would be isolated from local services and the development could worsen local flooding.

He said: "Piecemeal development is exactly what we should be protecting against, for the sanctity of our town.

"We already suffer from severe flooding of our gardens and private land, brought on by the land drains' run-off from the Marston trading estate and nearby watercourses.

"This will be accessed by one road on the edge of town, far removed from the schools, nurseries, doctors' surgeries and the hospital.

"The links needed to make this site feel part of the town aren't there, and inevitably every journey made from the site will be by car."

The commercial space on the site will include a food store, a non-food retail outlet. and a drive-thru of some description.

One of the site's landowners is Philip Ham – who represents Coleford and Holcombe on the district council, and is also the county councillor for Mendip Central and East.

The new homes will be built by Curo, a non-profit house-builder and housing association based in Bath, with 71 of the new properties being affordable.

Deputy managing director Sarah Mailer said: "We will construct the homes in accordance with the outline planning application and transfer the affordable homes to our housing association.

"We hope to start on site in 2021. We anticipate we will build 50 homes a year.

"Delivering the employment uses on this site will continue to be managed by Silverwood."

Councillor Shane Collins – who represents the neighbouring Frome Keyford ward – said it was important to get these plans correct to avoid issues with transport in the future.

He said: "I am very concerned that down the line we are getting ourselves into a huge transport problem here, with the other applications coming on.

"I would like the developer to be a green exemplar, with solar panels as standard, heat pumps installed throughout the site, and a change in layout of the housing so they are south-facing."

Councillor Richard Pinnock (whose Frome Park ward includes the northern end of the site) added: "The approach to the Gorehedge junction along The Butts is a serious issue. Traffic from this site would only make things worse.

"The planned crossing point should be upgraded to a zebra crossing at the very least, for not a lot of extra money."

Councillor Helen Kay said the developers should set aside funding to connect the new homes to the railway station, encouraging people not to drive.

She said: "My worry is as all these developments go ahead, we're going to have not just 800 houses in the next five years, but actually over 1,000 – because we already agreed to have Caxton Road go ahead last year, and they're still building near Asda.

"Each developer is going to be giving a little bit of money here and there, and it could be five years or more before we have enough money to do something about the transport.

"We can encourage more sustainability by asking the developer to put money into, for example, a missing link which will link up this development to the railway station."

After more than an hour's debate, the committee voted by six votes to five (with one abstention) to defer a decision on the plans for up to three months.

The developer will now come back with fresh proposals about the access, the green buffers zones and the impact on local heritage assets.