Nearly 30 new homes will be built behind a popular Somerset pub after long-delayed plans were approved. Graham Pavier and Elizabeth Baird applied in November 2019 to build 28 homes on the Ding Meadow site, which lies behind The Bell at Broadway pub in the growing village of Broadway, near Ilminster.
A decision on the plans has been repeatedly delayed by the ongoing phosphates crisis, with the applicants having to secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors. More than five years after the plans were first submitted, Somerset Council has finally given the plans the green light, entering in a legal agreement with West of England Developments (Taunton) Ltd. to deliver the new homes.
The site lies between Broadway Road and the River Ding at the northern end of the village, within walking distance of the village hall and Neroche Primary School. Access will be from a new junction near the public house, with enhancements being made to the existing public right of way which connects Broadway Road with Church Lane in the neighbouring village of Horton.
The new homes will be concentrated at the northern end of the site, with significant amounts of green space near the river being retained. Of the 28 homes, ten will be affordable, meeting the council’s target for 35 per cent affordable homes for any new development of ten homes or more within the former South Somerset area.
A spokesman for Boon Brown Architects (representing the developers) said: “The application site comprises suitable housing land in a sustainable location that is immediately available, deliverable and viable for housing development, to help address the shortfall in the five-year supply of deliverable housing sites within the former district. This proposed development represents an exciting opportunity to bring the application site into active residential use providing a range of housing opportunities in a sensitive and well-designed manner.
(Image: Baird & Pavier)
“The proposal will help to support local services and providing safe routes to the local playground and school. The location of the housing will ensure that any potential flood risk is mitigated against.”
The development is one of more than 50 within the former South Somerset area which has been held up by the phosphates crisis, with around 12,000 homes across the county being delayed. To unlock these new homes, two forms of mitigation are proposed – a package treatment plant within the site, and the creation of an orchard elsewhere within the river’s catchment area.
This orchard will be created on land owned by West of England Developments (Taunton) Ltd. – the company which recently dropped plans for a new orchard within its Coronation Way development in Creech St. Michael, near Taunton. Broadway and the neighbouring village of Horton have seen significant interest from housing developers in recent years due to their proximity to the A303 near the Devon-Somerset border, the A358 to Taunton, and the Blackdown Hills.
(Image: Boon Brown Architects)
The council’s planning committee south approved plans for 35 homes on the northern side of Broadway Road in November 2023, with a decision pending on revised plans for a further 47 homes on Pound Road. Both the council and the Planning Inspectorate have separately approved plans for 49 further homes on Broadway Hill in Horton, which could begin construction early in the new year.
The Ding Meadow plans were approved through the delegated powers of the council’s planning officers, rather than a public decision by its planning committee south. As part of the approval, the developer has pledged to provide more than £99,000 towards improvements at the primary school, along with resurfacing part of Lamparts Way.
Senior planning officer Anna Jotcham said: “The proposal would provide a financial contribution towards education places in the area and secure 24 community parking spaces to relieve parking congestion when the school and the Bell at Broadway are open. These social and economic benefits provide significant weight in favour of the proposal.”
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