More land around a major Taunton development may have to be fallowed to allow further homes to be built on the site.
The Orchard Grove development (a.k.a. the Comeytrowe urban extension) is currently being delivered by Taylor Wimpey and the Vistry Group, with outline permission being in place for 2,000 homes, a primary school, employment units and a ‘park and bus’ facility.
Vistry put forward plans to deliver 20 new homes on a small parcel off the central spine road, within the ‘western neighbourhood’ of the development.
Somerset West and Taunton Council’s planning committee approved these plans when it met in Taunton on Thursday afternoon (March 2).
However, this approval came with a warning that existing mitigation within the urban extension had run out – meaning different solutions will need to be found quickly to allow construction to continue.
The Dutch N court ruling, and the resulting legal advice from Natural England, requires additional mitigation to be provided for any new development which could increase the phosphate levels within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area – which includes the majority of the former Taunton Deane area.
The need to secure mitigation from developers has resulted in a huge backlog of planning decisions and new house-building, with around 18,000 homes across Somerset being held up.
The council has put a number of temporary measures in place to try and unlock new housing, from investing £2m in new wetlands to implementing a system of phosphate credits, whereby developers pay for off-site mitigation.
To deliver the existing homes on the Orchard Grove site, the majority of the eastern side of the development area has been fallowed (i.e. taken out of active agricultural use).
While this has allowed homes at the western end of the development (near the A38 Wellington Road) to be delivered, this fallowed land cannot be built upon until alternative phosphate mitigation has been secured.
Simon Fox, the council’s major projects officer for planning, confirmed on Thursday (March 2) that this application “exhausts the phosphates credits on the site” – though this will not impede the new primary school from being constructed.
Unless further mitigation can be put in place, no further homes can be approved or constructed within the site – including the pending plans for a further 51 homes and the ‘park and bus’ facility near the A38.
Mr Fox added that a decision on this particular parcel was “imperative” to prevent grant funding to deliver affordable homes being lost.
Five of the 20 new homes within this parcel will be affordable, being split between affordable rent and shared ownership.
Councillor Marcia Hill said: “I’m really pleased that this was able to come forward. Affordable housing is what we need to be concentrating on.
“We do need more trees on these plots, and must make sure they are the right types of trees.”
After less than an hour’s debate, the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans.
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