Part of a closed Somerset spa near the M5 could still be turned into new homes if a brace of appeals prove successful. Rookery Manor is located in the small hamlet of Edingworth, just north of the Sedgemoor services on the M5 between Highbridge and Weston-super-Mare.
The manor functioned as a wedding venue until August 2020 and as a spa until December 2023, with business owner Ian Clapp still running a number of holiday cabins to the south of the main building. Mr Clapp was refused permission in July 2024 by Somerset Council to convert the function room of the main manor building into nine self-contained apartments, as well as erecting a further 14 holiday cabins a stone’s throw from the motorway.
Mr Clapp has now appealed both of these decisions, with the Planning Inspectorate expected to make final rulings on both proposals by the summer. The new apartments are intended to be built within the main wedding venue building in the centre of the manor complex, which is single-storey and includes a lobby and kitchen area.
Each of the apartments (if approved) will contain three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen/dining area, with new windows being inserted on the south side and new entrance doors providing access to outdoor amenity space. The new cabins are intended to be erected at the southernmost part of the site, within a few hundred yards of the boundary with the northbound motorway service station.
Mr Clapp previously applied to site 18 cabins on this parcel of land, but was refused permission by Sedgemoor District Council in November 2022. Councillor Bob Filmer (whose Brent division includes the site) was among the councillors who opposed the development when it came before the council’s planning committee north in July 2024.
Councillor Bob Filmer (Conservative, Brent)
(Image: Sedgemoor District Council)
Speaking at the same, he said: “This site has recycled itself on a number of occasions – those of us who have been around a very long time will remember going out for a site visit when this was a pig farm, before it was a wedding venue. Edingworth is a small hamlet, and the number of properties we’re proposing is significantly adding to it.
“This is in the middle of nowhere, in terms of planning. Are we now saying that so long as you’re within a quick drive of services, that’s sustainable?”
Councillor Matt Martin (who represents the neighbouring King Alfred division) added: “It seems we’re turning this wedding venue into housing because we’ve run out of options for the building.” The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that both appeals will be settled through written representations, rather than in-person public inquiries.
The existing Rookery Manor cabins seen from Strowlands in Edingworth
(Image: Google Maps)
The appointed inspector will visit the site in the coming weeks, with their rulings expected to be published by the late-spring.
To make a formal representation to the inspector, visit www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk and quote reference number 3356647 by February 6.