Somerset Council may not defend appeal over 112 Taunton homes
Somerset council committee signals support for homes after years of delays and negotiations.
Somerset Council may not fight to stop 112 new homes on the northern edge of Taunton after councillors voted they would have approved plans if given enough time.
Gladman Developments has been attempting since November 2017 to build homes on land adjacent to Pyrland Farm, located off Cheddon Road at the northern edge of Somerset’s county town.
The Congleton-based developer originally applied to build 180 homes on the site, but these plans were rejected by Taunton Deane Borough Council’s planning committee in July 2019.
Revised plans were put forward in October 2019, reducing the number of homes first to 150 and subsequently to 112 following lengthy negotiations with planning officers, first at Somerset West and Taunton Council and latterly at Somerset Council (which replaced the district councils in April 2023).
After years of delay and indecision, the developer lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in early-November – with a final ruling expected to be published some time in the new year.
The council’s planning committee west has now stated that it would have voted in favour of the plans had it been given more time to debate them – meaning the appeal is unlikely to be defended.
The site was allocated for residential development within the Taunton Deane Core Strategy in 2012, but was only expected to provide up to 45 homes.
The latest iteration of these long-running plans involve the delivery of 112 homes on the northern side of Cheddon Road, of which 25 per cent will be affordable (the equivalent of 28 properties).
A new access will be created at the western end of Cheddon Road, with a pedestrian access being provided onto Lyngford Lane near the existing properties and farm buildings – not far from phase three of the Nerrols Farm development, which was approved in April.
The new development is expected to make financial contributions towards local services – including more than £1.6m for local school places (including special needs provision) and more than £50,000 towards expanding GP surgeries.
The development will also include enhancements to the existing walking and cycling link along Cheddon Road towards the town centre (which forms part of the wider ‘red route’ within the Taunton local cycling and walking infrastructure plan, or LCWIP).
The appeal was lodged on the grounds of non-determination – in other words, that the council had failed to make a decision within a reasonable amount of time.
Much of the delay has surrounded the need to secure phosphate mitigation, given the site’s location within the River Tone catchment which runs onto the Somerset Levels and Moors.
To offset phosphates from these new homes, Gladman intends to fallow agricultural land to the north – taking out of commission around 7.7 hectares or 19 acres, the equivalent around nine football pitches.
The council’s planning committee west (which handles major applications within the former Somerset West and Taunton area) met in Taunton on December 16 to settle what decision it would have made on the plans had the appeal not been lodged.
Marcus Walker, chairman of Cheddon Fitzpaine Parish Council, urged the committee not to back the plans, citing the cumulative impact of this site on top of the Nerrols Farm estate.
He said: “This development is less than a quarter of a mile away from the already-agreed ‘Nerrols 3’ estate.
“On April 15, your committee heard impassioned pleas from many concerned residents demanding that a link road be retained through the Nerrols Farm estate to help to alleviate the inevitable traffic chaos that new housing developments would create on Cheddon Road.
“I have a duty of care to the local community of Cheddon Fitzpaine. No-one is against the building of new houses, but this really is not the right place for this development.”
Councillor David Fothergill (whose Monkton and North Curry division includes the site) said Gladman’s plans “fail to address the significant impact on the northern rural road network” of new homes.
He added: “This application overlooks the safety implications for Cheddon Fitzpaine Primary School, which is no more than 100 metres from the site down a very steep hill.
“People have to walk to this primary school, and there is a real danger from increased traffic.
“There are no improvements to the roads going north and no new safety measures.”
Councillor Caroline Ellis (Liberal Democrat, Bishop’s Hull and Taunton West) said the council’s highways department was disregarding local knowledge – knowledge which could prove fundamental to defending the appeal.
She said: “I walk from my house to this area every Friday – I use the road regularly. There’s a lot of local knowledge that we disregard at our peril.
“£234,000 is probably a drop in the ocean – it might get you a little bit of a cycle track but it won’t address any of the issues around the sheer volume of cars going through that area – it’s not going to touch the sides.
“Our highways officers and the rest of the world are on totally different pages. You’re just going to be piling on hundreds more cars – it is slightly terrifying.”
Councillor Norman Cavill (Conservative, Monkton and North Curry) agreed, stating: “Until someone puts forward some serious road improvements to cope with the traffic, I can’t see that we should allow extra development here.”
Despite these concerns, the committee voted in favour of the proposals (in principle) by six votes to none, with four abstentions – on the basis that the appeal could not be successfully defended on road safety grounds.
Councillor Gwilym Wren (Independent, Upper Tone) admitted: “We have lost control of this application and are, in sporting parlance, on the back foot.”
The commitee’s decision is not legally binding, but it will inform how much of a defence the council will mount at the appeal – and therefore how likely it is that Gladman will be granted permission for the scheme.
The council has already declined to defend several appeals due to issues with its five-year housing land supply – including plans for 315 homes on Exeter Road in Rockwell Green near Wellington (which were approved in May) and 180 homes on the A367 Fosseway South in Midsomer Norton (which secured outline approval in February).
The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the appeal will be decided through written representations only, rather than any in-person public inquiry.
The inspector is expected to publish their final ruling by the spring of 2026.