New homes could be built on the edge of Somerset’s national park if plans are approved by the local authority.

Acorn Developments SW Ltd. has applied to build ten homes on a small plot of land on Porlock Road, next to Minehead Cemetery.

The Taunton-based developer – not to be confused with the similarly-named Acorn Property Group – has previously delivered new homes on Periton Lane and The Shires within the town.

Somerset West and Taunton Council is expected to make a decision on the Porlock Road plans by the end of the year.

The site – which is outside of the development boundary of Minehead – lies at the south-western corner of the cemetery, between Porlock Road and the existing homes on Home Meadow.

Access will be from Porlock Road, with the existing public footpath along the northern boundary being preserved and a new pedestrian link to the cemetery being included.

A total of 38 car parking spaces will be provided within the site, with the homes being either three- or four-bedroom in size.

A spokesman for Boon Brown Architects (representing the applicant) said: “This low density allows for a proposal which provides enhanced biodiversity net gain while maintaining the rural feel of the site, respecting the surrounding local context.

“The scheme features detached dwellings which have organically been positioned through the site, around a new shared surface access road, again referencing the rural feel.

“The architectural language of the proposal has again taken cues from the wider context of the town, expressing key design features and maintaining a consistent material palette appropriate to the location of the site.”

Both this site and the land to the south are identified for future housing within the council’s strategic housing and employment land availability assessment (SHELAA), with the combined area expected to provide 55 new homes by 2032.

Minehead is expected to deliver more than 1,000 new homes across multiple sites within the next decade – on top of the council’s own scheme to deliver 54 new low-cost homes on Seaward Way by the end of 2023.

Housing delivery in the district has been stymied by the phosphates crisis, with thousands of homes in the former Taunton Deane area being held up by the need for additional mitigation to prevent phosphate levels rising within the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site.

However, the majority of the former West Somerset area (including Minehead) lies outside this catchment area, meaning that numerous significant housing projects – such as the Liddymore Park development in Watchet – have been able to progress rapidly.

The council is expected to make a ruling on the Porlock Road proposals before Christmas.