A small Somerset village faces a fight on two fronts to prevent dozens of new homes from being built.

Within the space of just over a year, Mendip District Council has 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 – have both lodged appeals against the council's decisions.

The Planning Inspectorate has now confirmed that both of these appeals will be settled through written representations, with the results being expected by the end of the year.

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

Caption:

Plans For 45 Homes On Warminster Road In Beckington Bba Architects & Planners

advertisement

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 Beckington Family Practice was denied permission to expand by the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in March 2020 after concerns were raised about how setting up a new site would affect the quality of care being provided.

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.

Councillor Francis Hayden – who represents the villages of Cranmore, Doulting and Nunney – opined in October 2021 that the Warminster Road site provided the more sustainable option for delivering new housing in the village.

Speaking at the time, he said: "The site up by the bypass has room for a new doctors' surgery, which is not overlooking the heritage heart of the village, and links to a section of the sewage system which has no problems and is not vulnerable.

"This [Redrow] site seems worse in every respect. There is no contribution to the health service which is admittedly stretched and needs a new doctor's surgery.

"It links up to a section of the sewage system which already is actually over capacity – and everybody knows that two years running, foul sewage has been lapping at people's doors when we had heavy rain during the summer.

"Between the two, the choice seems to me absolutely obvious."

To contribute to the appeal process, visit www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk before August 2, quoting reference number 3288474 for the Stonewood Partnership site and reference number 3289537 for the Redrow Homes site.