Dozens of new homes could still be built near a growing Somerset village after a formal appeal was lodged.

Walton LVA LLP applied in December 2019 for permission to build 37 new homes on South Street in Walton, on the outskirts of Street and a short distance from the busy A39.

Mendip District Council’s planning board threw the plans out in January 2023, arguing that the homes would worsen existing road safety issues on the main road.

The developer has now lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, meaning the council’s decision could be overturned in a matter of months.

The site lies on the eastern side of South Street, being bordered by Veal Lane at the south-eastern edge of the village.

The site is outside of the settlement boundary of Walton and less than a mile from the Street Future Growth Area (FGA), where 400 homes and a new primary school have been allocated within the council’s Local Plan Part II, which was adopted in December 2021.

Under the proposals, a new access would be created almost directly opposite the existing junction with Long Lane, with the land nearest Veal Lane being allocated for attenuation ponds and a play area.

Of the 37 homes proposed for the site, 11 will be affordable, meeting the council’s target of 30 per cent affordable homes for any new development of ten homes or more.

The planning board voted to refuse permission on three grounds:

The development would “prejudice highway safety” by increasing traffic congestion, especially at the junction between South Street and the A39

The site lies in open countryside, within a village which has “already exceeded its housing allocation” specified in the Mendip Local Plan Part I (which was ratified in December 2014)

The development would result in harm to local heritage assets, including the setting of the grade two listed Church of the Holy Trinity

In its official appeal statement, Walton LVA LLP said it would redesign the junction with Veal Lane in improve visibility, as well as upgrading pavements along South Street to the main road.

It also pledged to provide nearly £205,000 towards local primary school places (most likely at Brookside Academy on Brooks Lane in Street), along with funding for local play areas and public open space.

A spokesman for Pegasus Planning (representing the developer) said: “Somerset Council does not have a five-year housing land supply. This position is significant and worsening, with no remedial measures in place to address.

“The council’s adopted plan does not meet the defined up-to-date housing need. The ‘adverse impacts’ of the scheme do not outweigh the public benefits.”

In addition to the site allocated in the Local Plan Part II, two other major developments are planned within Street in the coming years.

Curo Enterprise Ltd recently submitted revised proposals for 280 new homes on the B3151 Somerton Road, having acquired the site from the Ninesquare Trust after outline planning permission was granted in January 2023.

A further 33 homes could be delivered by Aster Housing on Portland Road, near the village’s cemetery – but progress on this scheme has been held up by the phosphates crisis.

The A39 is a major freight route across Somerset, with the stretch between Bridgwater and Street being regularly congested and narrow in places, posing a challenge for HGV drivers.

Somerset councillors submitted a bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) for a possible bypass to the north of Walton and Ashcott, which would have removed 95 per cent of traffic from the two villages.

At the time of the district council’s original decision, councillors had agreed to postpone any capital spending on the bypass for at least 12 months as part of a review ahead of the first budget of the new Somerset Council.

Following this decision, the DfT confirmed in mid-February 2023 that the bypass would not be attracting government funding – meaning the project had been scrapped.

Speaking at the time, Councillor Mike Rigby (then-portfolio holder for transport and digital) said: “We’re disappointed at the decision, but we understand the pressures on public finances both nationally and of course locally.

“We’ll continue urging the DfT to help us look at issues on the route and seek to understand opportunities for further investment.”

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed the fate of this application will be decided through written representations and a site visit, rather than a formal public inquiry.

To lodge a formal objection to the plans, visit www.acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk and quote case number 3324852 before February 7.

The inspector’s final ruling is expected to be published by the late-spring.