A SOMERSET developer is trying to get out of providing any affordable housing as part of a major new development near the Quantock Hills.

Strongvox Homes was granted permission in October 2020 to build 109 new houses on the Cricketer Farm brownfield site on the A39 Cannington Road in Nether Stowey, between Bridgwater and Williton.

The company – which is based in Taunton – has now claimed it cannot deliver 16 affordable homes within the site as well as improvements to the main road.

Sedgemoor District Council will decide whether to allow the changes before the end of February.

Bill Richardson, Strongvox’s planning manager, laid out the company’s reasoning in a letter to the council on December 24, 2021, which was recently published on the council’s planning portal.

He said: “We seek to remove affordable housing provision from the development in the context of the open book viability undertaken earlier this year.

“This highlighted the viability constraints associated with delivery of the associated junction works and costs associated with the refurbishment of the retained barn on the site.”

As part of the development, a new signal-controlled junction will be delivered, providing a safe access to both the new homes and St. Mary Street, which leads into the centre of the village.

Somerset County Gazette: Plans For 109 Homes On The Cricketer Farm Site On The A39 Cannington Road In Nether Stowey. CREDIT: Focus On Design. Free to use for all BBC wire partners.

Separate plans for this new junction were approved by the council in September 2019, under the condition that it had to be delivered within a three-year period.

Alison and Nicholas Anderson, who live on Lime Street a short distance from the site, said removing the affordable housing could damage the village’s future by making it harder for locals to get on the property ladder.

They said: “Bearing in mind the desperate need for affordable housing, if anything we would strongly recommend increasing the amount of affordable housing [on-site].

“A thriving, living village depends upon locals being able to afford to buy houses or flats.”

This site is not the only area in the Sedgemoor district in which Strongvox has taken an interest.

The company is currently constructing 38 new homes (including 15 affordable units) at the Wedmore Grange site on the B3139 Blackford Road in Wedmore, after permission was granted in March 2021.

A decision is also pending on plans for 50 homes on the Beavers Lodge Farm site in Lympsham, which could include 20 “local needs affordable homes” if approved.

The council is expected to make a decision on the Nether Stowey changes by the end of February.