New homes near Somerset pig farm stopped by Councillor Ham

Plans for new homes near a working pig farm in Somerset have been refused – thanks in part to local councillor Philip Ham.

Rubix Strategic Ltd. put forward plans in April 2024 for a new development of 40 homes on the B3081 Prestleigh Road in the small village of Evercreech, near Shepton Mallet.

Somerset Council’s planning committee east (which handles major applications within the former Mendip area) met to discuss the plans on Monday afternoon (August 4), with planning officers recommending that permission be granted.

But the committee – including Councillor Ham (Mendip Central & East), Councillor Rob Reed and Councillor Claire Sully (both Mendip South) – voted in the opposite direction, arguing the development would erode the village’s character and lead to an increase in localised flooding.

The site lies on the northern side of Prestleigh Road, within walking distance of the former Greencore factory, where permission for 118 homes, commercial space and a community hub were refused on appeal in July 2024.

The site was previously intended to provide 56 homes and a convenience store, but these proposals – put forward by M7 Planning Ltd. – were withdrawn in June 2023.

Access to the new homes would have been onto Prestleigh Road, with the majority of the properties being congregated near the existing properties on Maesdown Road.

Of the 40 homes planned for the site, 12 would have been affordable – meeting the council’s target of 30 per cent affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more in the former Mendip area.

To prevent any net increase in phosphates within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area, local arable land will be taken out of active use, with new woodland being planted near the development site.

The site is not allocated within either the Mendip Local Plan Part I (which was approved in December 2014) or the Mendip Local Plan Part II (which was approved in December 2021 and recently revised following a judicial review).

David Julian, a trustee of CPRE Somerset, was among numerous local residents who objected to the plans when the committee convened in Shepton Mallet on Monday afternoon (August 4).

He said: “If this site were developed, the approach to the village and its rural character would be irreversibly harmed.

“With 163 housing completions against a target of 70, the village has significantly over-delivered on its housing commitment.

“The Greencore brownfield site is preferable, and is allocated within the Local Plan for mixed use development.

“The large increase in vehicular movements to and from the site will be broadly unacceptable. This is not sustainable development.”

Paul Davies, who lives on Bridge Close opposite the site, said building homes in this location could jeopardise the future of the pig farm, having a knock-on effect for local businesses.

He said: “This development could irrevocably jeopardise the continued effective management of the farm, which has been established there for 60 years.

“This is a working farm, maintained to Red Tractor standards, capable of rearing 600 pigs.

“Odour from the site will be a detrimental factor to houses in such close proximity; conflict with new residents over such nuisance appears inevitable.

“The strength of public opinion in the village against this build is very strong.”