WORK on a major new housing site in west Somerset could begin as early as next summer if revised proposals are approved.

The Wyndham Estate secured outline planning permission in November 2021 to deliver up to 350 new homes on the A39 Priest Street at the western edge of Williton, along with commercial space, leisure facilities and public open space.

The legal agreements between the landowner and Somerset Council were not signed until late-February this year, with Lovell Homes subsequently acquiring the development site.

The Tamworth-based developer is currently consulting on amended proposals for the site with a view to a fresh planning application being submitted by August – and a promise that the first homes could begin being built as early as the summer of 2025 if the council grants permission.

The site lies on the north of the crucial A39 and was allocated within the West Somerset Local Plan as one of the key sites to deliver Williton’s future housing growth.

Under the proposals, 44 per cent of the new homes will be affordable (the equivalent of 154 properties) – far above the 35 per cent mandated within the existing Local Plan.

The new homes ranging from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses, with cycle storage and electric vehicle charging points being fitted as standard.

The sole vehicular access will be from Priest Street, with the commercial space being sites near the main road – though existing public rights of way connecting the site to the village and the community hospital will be enhanced.

To address the issues surrounding localised flooding, numerous “balancing ponds” will be created within the site, with new allotments being created at the eastern edge of the development.

A spokesman said: “We will retain routes based around known landscapes, including the informal access to Outmoor Wood, and create a heart to the development with an informal village green and play area.

“We will provide a network of green spaces and green links forming pedestrian and cycle routes, retaining existing hedges where possible.”

In line with the existing legal agreements surrounding the site, £200,000 will be provided by the developer to deliver 1.5 kilometres (almost one mile) of the Steam Coast Trail, focussing on the link between the B3191 Five Bells and Doniford Road.

A further £500,000 will be provided for new walking and cycling links between the development site and the village, with an extra £200,000 for a new toucan crossing at Bells, providing safer access to the nearby Danesfield Church of England School.

Local bus stops will also be upgraded, with a contribution of up to £500,000 to support the 28 service between Minehead and Taunton and the 15 service between Minehead and Bridgwater.

Lovell Homes is already in the process of delivering two other major developments within the former Somerset West and Taunton area – namely 80 homes on Dene Road in Cotford St. Luke (which it recently purchased from Hallam Land Management) and 71 homes on Burges Lane in Wiveliscombe (for which it recently secured revised planning permission).

The developer said formal plans will be submitted to Somerset Council by August, with the start of construction being “currently targeted at the summer of 2025”.

Due to the scale of the development, a decision on these revised proposals will most likely be taken in public by the council’s planning committee west, rather than through the delegated powers of its planning officers.