ILMINSTER Town Council's planning committee was last night (Tuesday) due to discuss a scheme to build a 17-home housing development on land in Station Road.

Developers Brookvale Homes want to utilise the G. A. Vowles Ltd agricultural machinery depot and maintenance site with a range of two-storey properties.

Councillors will hear that the application involves three three-bedroom, three two-bedroom and three four-bedroom homes and six one-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments close to Home Farm Close and the former Lord Nelson pub, which has been demolished and being replaced by a separate scheme for flats.

A spokesman for Boon Brown Architects, on behalf of Brookvale, said: "This application provides an exciting opportunity to build a residential development which will provide much-needed and desired accommodation in an extremely sustainable location, very near to the town centre."

The current buildings on the site are not ideal for modern-day business use and it is expected that G. A. Vowles will move to new purpose-built premises.

There could be some concerns about the loss of another employment site for residential, but commercial land agents Greenslade Taylor Hunt have predicted there would be little prospect of interest if the area was marketed for commercial use.

Greenslade's Charles Clark said: "The buildings are old, tired and not practicable. The layout is difficult and the future operation of this site will not be enhanced by residential development now taking place nearby.

"The mix of residential and industrial is complex at best and the site owner is understandably concerned that a relatively noisy agricultural operation will not sit well amidst a new development."

Mr Clark added that small and old-fashioned' industrial sites now had limited appeal, and that there was now far superior employment land available in the Chard and Ilminster areas.