29 new homes coming to Castle Cary as plans are approved

The B3152 Station Road in Castle Cary has seen significant interest from housing developers in recent years, with numerous new estates being approved and constructed between the town centre and the station.

Redcliffe Homes teased plans in August 2022 for 29 new properties on the eastern side of the road, with a formal planning application being submitted in November the same year.

More than two years after the initial consultation, Somerset Council’s planning committee south voted unanimously that the new homes should go ahead when it convened in Yeovil on September 24.

The new homes will be built between the existing homes on Almsford Court and the Lovells Farm development which is being constructed immediately to the north.

A new access road will be created off Station Road running through the site, with footpath links being provided at either end to link the new homes to the other developments and the town centre (via the cricket ground and Florida Street).

Plans for the 29 homes. (Image: Redcliffe Homes)

The development is one of more than 50 within the former South Somerset area whose delivery has been stymied by the ongoing phosphates crisis, with developers needing to secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

In addition to maintaining an orchard at the site’s northern edge, the developer will offset the new homes’ impact by purchasing phosphate credits, generated from fallowing agricultural land at both Woodrow Farm in Yeovil March and Manor Farm in Prestleigh, near Evercreech.

Gerald Jepps, who lives near the site, said these homes would exacerbate the negative changes to Castle Cary’s landscape and character as a result of the “overwhelming scale of housing development” in recent years.

He told the committee: “The proposed development is essentially undesirable, unplanned and ad hoc building of a potentially irreversible and damaging kind.

“The development is different in character from other recently completed developments, in that it goes hard up against the boundaries of existing, more older properties with no sensitive green space being provided.”

Councillor Henry Hobhouse (whose Castle Cary division includes the site) said he was concerned that further housing would add to the town’s growing issues with crime and policing.

He said: “We have, in the last four weeks, had six armed officers in three cars on three occasions being called out to the opposite estate.

“We have a major problem, and it has not been addressed in the officer’s report.

“We have a whole pile of people on Station Road really complaining about the traffic coming in and out because of the new developments.

“We need some form of speed control on Station Road to deal with the hundreds of new houses being built there.”

Councillor Kevin Messenger (who represents the same division) added: “Castle Cary has been over-developed, and the speed at which this has happened has divided the community.

“We’re experiencing some very sad situations, and I would question the speed at which these developments are happening, with developers negotiating their way out of Section 106 payments.”

Redcliffe Homes (which is based in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol) has promised to provide more than £69,000 for early years provision in the town and nearly £231,000 for additional primary school places.

The developer is currently delivering the Gascoigne Park development in Milborne Port, near Sherborne, which will eventually comprise 65 homes, a community hub and a convenience store.

Councillor Sue Osborne (Ilminster) said: “Surely we could argue against this on the basis of cumulative impact?

“We’ve yet to know the impact of traffic and parking. There are no plans for any sort of bypass.

“We’ve got a large amount of housing that has been put in a very small market town, which is locally distinctive to south Somerset – that is something we could be in danger of losing if we’re not careful.”

Despite these reservations, the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans after around an hour’s debate.

Messrs Hobhouse and Messenger were unable to vote on the plans, having declared an interest at the beginning of the meeting.

Both gentlemen had previously objected to the plans when they were being discussed by Castle Cary Town Council, and therefore could not vote as part of the committee (though they could give their views during the initial discussion).