Up to 140 homes to be built in Templecombe in Somerset

Gleeson Strategic Land Ltd teased plans in November 2022 for a new development of 160 homes and a community facility on Bowden Lane at the southern edge of Templecombe, within the Blackmore Vale.

Following feedback from the public, the Fleet-based developer submitted formal plans to South Somerset District Council in January for 140 homes on the same site, with the community facility being retained at the western edge.

Numerous local residents spoke against the plans at a public meeting on Tuesday afternoon (November 14), arguing that the land was contaminated, the roads were unsafe and the village was growing too quickly.

But despite sympathising with these concerns, councillors voted unanimously to back the plans, believing they could not win an impending appeal by the developer.

The site lies to the south of the existing homes on Bowden Road, with a new access point being created near the junction with West Street.

While pedestrians and cyclists will be able to access the busy A357 Combe Hill, leading to Henstridge and Wincanton, there will be no access for vehicles from this point (except emergency vehicles).

The site would include two new children’s play areas, a community hub or similar facilities and extensive planting and landscaping to provide an aesthetically pleasing gateway to the village.

The community facility could end up being used as a village hall, for providing retail space or relocating the existing GP surgery to a larger, more accessible facility.

Somerset health bosses stated in September 2020 that Templecombe Surgery, located on Station Road, was one of 14 doctors’ surgeries that would need to expand or relocate in the coming years to cope with new housing growth.

However, the Somerset NHS Integrated Care Board stated in September that it had sufficient capacity for new patients at both the current surgery site and its sister site in the neighbouring village of Milborne Port, near Sherborne.

Numerous locals voiced their displeasure at the proposals when Somerset Council’s planning committee south (which handles major applications in the former South Somerset area) met in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (November 14).

Geoffrey Wilson, who sits on Abbas and Templecombe Parish Council (but spoke in a personal capacity), said: “There has been no overall cohesion or consideration, resulting in a plethora of inappropriate housing which is at odds with this rural settlement.

“Our infrastructure is already under strain, especially the antiquated sewage system – which, despite all the additional development over the years, has never been upgraded.

“As a resident, I know Bowden Road to be narrow in parts, with visibility being limited and often obstructed. The result is potentially dangerous to children, the elderly and the disabled.”

Templecombe has seen significant housing growth in recent years, with developers targeting it and the surrounding villages to deliver additional homes as major sites within the larger settlements in Somerset (including Yeovil, Crewkerne and Chard) have failed to come forward.

Tilia Homes is currently constructing the Knights Meadow development on the A357 Slades Hill, comprising 70 homes next to the headquarters of Thales, one of the village’s main employers.

A further 54 homes are being delivered across two homes on West Street, not far from the planned access to the Bowden Road site.

Gleeson had previously attempted to build 60 homes on the Manor Farm site at the eastern edge of the village; however, these plans were thrown out by the Planning Inspectorate in July 2021.

Jeffery Carter, a professional builder who lives locally, said: “I strongly object to this application, it is disingenuous and lacking credibility.

“Chemicals such as caustic soda and lime were used to dispose of carcasses buried on this site during the foot-and-mouth outbreak in the late-1960s.

“A recent investigation revealed elevated levels of mercury in the surrounding area. The site is therefore contaminated already.

“There are too many risks to the environment to allow this application to proceed.”

The council admitted there was “compelling anecdotal evidence” that the site had been used a burial site for animals slaughtered during an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 1967.

However, under UK planning law, the responsibility for clearing up such sites – and preventing further outbreaks from the release of harmful micro-organisms – rests with the developer and landowner, not the council.

Guidance from both Natural England and Defra states that the risk of foot and mouth disease remaining in soil for more than 20 years after an outbreak is “negligible”.

Helen Barwick, who lives in the village, added: “Having a residential area adjacent to the existing watercourse would be totally inappropriate.

“Somerset Council is aiming to make our settlements a safer place for us to live in; more traffic on unsuitable roads will have the opposite effect.

“The phosphates issue in other parts of the county should not influence your decision.”

Around 18,000 homes across Somerset have been held up by the ongoing phosphates crisis, with developers having to agree additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.

While much of the former South Somerset district lies within this catchment, Templecombe and many of the neighbouring villages do not – making it easier for new housing to be approved and constructed quickly.

Prior to the committee meeting, Gleeson had indicated that if the council did not make a decision (either to approve or to refuse permission), it would launch an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination (i.e. the council taking too long to make up its mind).

Councillor Henry Hobhouse (whose Castle Cary division has struggled to cope with significant recent housing growth) said the council had little choice but to approve the plans.

He said: “I’m sorry to say that you are going to get overdevelopment in Templecombe. There is almost nothing that this committee can do to stop it, and the reason is that we don’t have a five-year land supply.

“If you think you’ve got it bad, in Castle Cary we have 900 houses that have gone through on appeal and ended up in a community which under the Local Plan was due to get 238.

“We are still ruled by central government, even with all the problems we have getting houses through, especially in relation to phosphates.

“If we vote against this, it will go to appeal and we will end up having to pay for the developer’s legal team if they win – and I think they will win.”

After more than an hour’s debate, the committee voted unanimously to approve the outline plans.

A reserved matters application, governing the detailed design and layout of the new homes, is expected to come forward early in the new year.