44 homes and 67-space car park approved in Somerset town centre
The former Millers Garage site on the A30 East Street in Crewkerne has been the subject of redevelopment proposals for more than a decade
More than 40 new homes and a 67-space car park will be coming to a Somerset market town after plans were approved.
The former Millers Garage site on the A30 East Street in Crewkerne has been the subject of redevelopment proposals for more than a decade, with South Somerset District Council purchasing the site for £225,000 in late-2014.
The council originally wished to deliver a new car park on the site under its own steam, which would have linked up with its existing Henhayes car park – getting as far as securing permission for a 60-space facility in August 2019.
However, senior councillors U-turned in November 2022 in favour of the car park coming forward as part of a housing development – with the Stonewater housing association putting forward plans to deliver a 75-space car park alongside 50 new homes.
Following negotiations with planning officers from Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April 2023), the proposals were downgraded to 44 homes with a separate 67-space car park – and no direct access to Henhayes in a bid to avoid rat-running.
These amended plans were approved on Tuesday afternoon (April 21) by the council’s planning committee south, despite local residents’ concerns about traffic and the desire for increased green space within the town.
Under the proposals, the existing access onto the A30 will be widened, providing improved ingress and egress for both the existing residents of Wyvern Court and the occupants of the new development.
The existing 20mph speed limit which is in effect through much of the town centre could be extended to make the access even safer – though this would be subject to a separate consultation.
A pedestrian and cycle link will be provided along the southern edge of the development, which will connect up with the existing public footpath running through the Crewkerne Business Park out to the A356 South Street.
Of the 44 homes delivered within the site, 16 will be affordable – meeting the council’s 35 per cent target for any new development of ten homes or more within the former South Somerset area.
In addition, Stonewater will provide more than £160,000 towards local services – of which around £131,000 will go towards improvements to public open spaces around the town.
The remainder (just over £29,000) will go towards expanding GP surgeries in the town, building on planned improvements to Crewkerne Health Centre which have been delivered as part of a wider £1m investment from central government.
Local resident Pat Lunt spoke against the plans when the planning committee south convened in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (April 21).
He said: “A petition proposing a park in this location attracted more than 1,500 signatures – it’s obviously very popular locally.
“The site is not in the direction of growth for Crewkerne; the Local Plan states this should be focussed on the Crewkerne Key Site a.k.a. Wool Gardens.
“There is no need for housing in this location at this time. If you move the 20mph sign, they’ll be doing 30mph when they reach this entrance.”
Fletcher Robinson from CPRE Somerset said the site had “greater value to the
town as open space”, describing the proposed development as “a major lost opportunity for the future of the town”.
He elaborated: “Why is the presently overgrown open space on this site so valuable? Because it is immediately north of the recreation ground.
“It could be a wonderful small park, with benches, connected to the recreation ground and near the leisure centre.
“In the longer term, the previous, already approved scheme could open the door to a more ambitious scheme for a larger park – for example, using the compulsory purchase powers recently introduced by the government.
“The open space could be extended eastwards into the green wedge of fields that comes into this location. It could have mown areas and wooded areas and provide a beautiful circular walk back to the town centre, along the lovely wooded footpath on its northern flank.
“At present there is no accessible informal recreation space near the centre of Crewkerne. That’s a major deficit for a primary market town.”
Julie Chant, a member of the Space4Crewkerne pressure group, added: “The new car park will be pay and display, so the public will be charged for using the council’s land.
“However, I cannot see any details in this application of a charge to the developer for using land under the car park for the largest part of their attenuation tank.
“How will timely delivery of the car park be achieved, given that planning conditions are often varied or ignored? Without a separate application, you’ve got very little control over it.”
Councillor Steve Ashton (whose Crewkerne division includes the site) said that approving these plans would worsen existing congestion within the town centre.
He said: “This access will just be blocked a large percentage of the time, because the cars will be stationary in front of the main road.
“It’s rather like at Waitrose, where quite often you have to wait ten or 15 minutes to exit the car park because Market Street gets jammed up.
“This is just going to make matters worse.”
Councillor Tim Kerley (Lib Dem, Somerton) took a different view, arguing: “We desperately need social housing in Somerset.
“I’ve listened with great interest and sympathy to what the residents have said, and I think there is a valid argument that a lot of our rural communities feel over-developed – the infrastructure isn’t keeping up.
“But despite this, I’ve heard no material reason for refusing this that we could defend at an appeal.”
After around an hour’s debate, the committee voted to approve the plans by eight votes to two, with one abstention.