CHARD residents will have to wait even longer to find out the fate of a major housing development planned on the northern edge of their town.
Mctaggart & Mickel Homes England Ltd. and the S. E. Blackburn Discretionary Trust jointly put forward plans in January 2019 for a development of up to 295 homes and a new stadium for Chard Town Football Club, on land between Thorndun Park Drive and Crimchard at Chard’s northern edge.
South Somerset District Council’s regulation committee voted to approve the plans in February 2020, along with the Blackdown Heights development of 142 homes which Barratt Homes recently finished constructing.
Officers on the new Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April) revealed in late-May that the stadium plans would need to be re-determined, since the original legal agreements had not been signed before the onset of the phosphate crisis, which is holding up development across Somerset.
The council’s planning committee south (which handles major applications in the former South Somerset area) was due to determine whether the amended proposals for the development should go ahead when it met in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (December 19).
But a decision has now been pushed back for an unconfirmed amount of time as the developer reviews the proposed legal agreements surrounding the non-residential part of the development.
The layout of the proposed development is broadly the same as the original design, with the new stadium and two additional large pitches (one of which will be for community use) being provided in the centre of the site with the new homes either side.
Of the 295 dwellings proposed for the site, 35 per cent will be affordable – the equivalent of 103 properties.
The new stadium (which comes with a clubhouse and retail space) will allow The Robins to relocate from their current ground on Zembard Lane, near Holyrood Academy – a ground whose infamous sloping pitch has hampered their recent fortunes in the Somerset County League.
Access to the new homes and stadium will be from Thorndun Park Drive, with existing footpaths (including the link around Chard Bowls Club) being enhanced and emergency vehicles being able to use a separate access onto Crimchard.
If approval is granted, the developers will provide more than £4.4m towards new school places in Chard – including £2.2m which can be used either to expand the town’s existing primary schools or provide a new school, possibly within the Chard eastern development area (CEDA).
Just over £1.2m will be provided towards secondary school places, which could lead to a further expansion of Holyrood Academy.
Nearly £122,000 will be provided towards GP services in the town – though NHS Somerset has not confirmed whether this will be spent on the existing Ariel Healthcare sites or be put towards a new surgery in the town.
In addition, new walking and cycling routes will be provided from the new homes – including new pavement along Crimchard to link the site to Blackdown Heights, two new bus stops and a pedestrian crossing over the A358 Furnham Road near the junction with Dellshore Close.
Somerset Council confirmed shortly before the committee meeting that a decision would not be taken before Christmas, and did not confirm how soon the plans would come back before councillors.
A spokesman said: “The applicants have confirmed that they are now taking further advice on the proposed terms of the legal agreement required to secure the necessary community and environmental benefits of the development.
“Until then,the council cannot properly determine the suitability of the application.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here