NEW low cost homes will be built in a Somerset village near the A303 after plans were approved.

The Stonewater housing association applied in November 2020 to deliver 30 homes on Flax Court, South Petherton, seeking to extend the Sam’s Acre development completed earlier that year, writes Daniel Mumby.

A decision on the development had been delayed due to the ongoing phosphates crisis, which is holding up the delivery of thousands of homes within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.

South Somerset District Council has now approved the development, with construction expected to begin before the end of this year.

The site lies at the western edge of the village, at the end of a larger residential area accessed off Compton Road.

The properties will be a mixture of one-bedroom flats and two- or three-bedroom houses, and will all be offered as affordable housing.

All properties will be built to Passivhaus standards, with air source heat pumps instead of gas boilers, and 66 car parking spaces will be provided on site.

To offset any increase in phosphates from the development, Stonewater will purchase land downstream of the site, fallowing the land from agricultural use or further development.

A spokesman for Boon Brown Architects, representing the applicant, said: “The proposal provides a variety of properties for a range of occupiers including couples and families large and small.

“The site is also situated within a sustainable and accessible location with a range of facilities.

“The proposal takes into consideration the surrounding area and provides a scheme which is contemporary in style and has a distinctive identity.

“The dwellings will be of high quality and shall provide the residents with good-sized gardens, sufficient parking and interactive open space.”

Stonewater is currently delivering the last of 42 new properties at the Millwater Place development on the A356 North Street in Crewkerne, and is in early discussions with the council over building a further 50 homes and car park off East Street in the town centre.

Decisions are pending on two other housing developments South Petherton – plans for 40 homes on Silver Street submitted by Your Land Partner Ltd and for 18 homes on Lampreys Lane put forward by Acorn Developments SW Ltd.

Construction on the new South Petherton homes is expected to begin by the summer.