RESIDENTS of a small Somerset village will have to wait another month to find out whether nearly 100 new homes will be built on their doorstep.
The Crossman Group applied in December 2021 for permission to build up to 97 homes on the B3167 Perry Street in South Chard, a stone’s throw from the Somerset-Dorset border.
The plans – which have been revised down to 95 homes – were due to be debated by Somerset Council’s planning committee south when it met in Yeovil on Tuesday evening (May 23).
But a decision has now been pushed back to the next meeting at the end of June after councillors ran out of time to debate the proposals.
The site lies between Perry Street and Factory Lane, not far from the former Chard Junction railway station.
While the initial proposals indicated an access road leading from the northern end of Perry Street, the amended plans instead have the main access being from the south-western corner, near the existing junction with School Lane.
The current bus stop near the School Lane junction will be moved a few yards down the road, with pedestrian and cycling access being provided at both the northern and southern ends of the site.
The new homes will range from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses – and of the 95 homes planned within the site, 33 will be affordable.
Under the council’s constitution, planning committee meetings are capped at four hours in length, with limits in place for the length of time being accorded to public speakers and local division members.
The committee devoted more than three hours between two other substantial planning applications on Tuesday – one for 49 homes on Broadway Hill in Horton (which was refused), and one for 67 homes on Ashlands Road in Crewkerne (which was deferred to allow more information to come forward).
Councillor Peter Seib, who chaired the meeting, said the committee “would have to defer matters” if it did not get enough time to discuss any given application.
He said: “We are going to be dealing with meaty applications for some time at this committee, because to the scheme of delegation and the backlog that we’ve built up. The applications will require intense scrutiny.”
Plans for around 18,000 homes across Somerset have been held up by the Dutch N court ruling, with developers having to provide additional mitigation to prevent any increase in phosphates within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.
The committee’s next meeting is due to take place on June 27 at 5pm at the former South Somerset District Council headquarters on Brympton Way in Yeovil. The meeting will be live-streamed via the council’s website.
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