A DECISION on nearly 50 homes at the southern edge of Castle Cary has been delayed to clarify its potential impact on the local landscape and the town’s conservation area.

Castle Cary LVA LLP applied in October 2023 for outline permission to build 46 homes on the B3152 South Street, just north of the town’s cemetery.

Somerset Council’s planning committee south (which handles major applications in the former South Somerset area) was expected to make a ruling on the plans when it met in Yeovil on September 24.

However, after the best part of two hours’ deliberation, the committee voted to defer a decision until later in the year to allow further information about the plans to be gathered by officers.

The proposed development will be sandwiched between the existing homes on Cockhill Elm Lane and the cemetery, with pedestrian access being provided onto the former to link up with the Macmillan Way long-distance footpath.

While there are pavements linking the site to the town centre, they are quite narrow in places and there is limited provision for cyclists or mobility scooters.

A total of 16 affordable homes will be provided as part of the development, meeting the 35 per cent target for affordable homes within the South Somerset Local Plan.

The developer believes that the plans represent “a sensible proposition in an established sustainable location”, which will “provide much-needed housing in correlation with local housing demand”.

Local resident Andrew Pate told the committee that Castle Cary was “being treated as a centre for unplanned housing growth”, in light of the significant development that had occurred over the last decade.

He added: “The report almost seems to say that the developer can do what they want, as they leave behind a few trees and an existing hedge.

“I’m assuming that you aren’t happy to see the southern gateway of Castle Cary downgraded by poor development?

“The conservation area is just ten metres away from the site. Where are the expectations being placed on the developer?”

Castle Cary lies within the River Brue catchment area, meaning that developers must secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

To mitigate the impact of the new homes, the developer is proposing to install a package treatment plant within the site, managed by Albion Water, which will filter out phosphates from household drains before it enters the watercourse.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse (who represents Castle Cary and the neighbouring villages) said it was unacceptable to approve further homes in the town until the council could ensure that all mitigation was being successfully implemented and maintained.

He said: “It is written in black and white that all mitigation proposals have to be policed by this council for a minimum of 80 years.

“We should not be passing any planning application which based on anything but a sewage plant until the council has appointed an officer to do these inspections.

“We are having problems attracting people to work for this council as enforcement officers, and we all know that without enforcement officers, there is no point in putting conditions on any planning applications.

“There is no shortage of affordable housing in Castle Cary. Stonewater has a site with 100 per cent affordable homes which is not yet built out and is nowhere near full, because they are bringing in people from Yeovil and Bridgwater.”

Councillor Kevin Messenger (who represents the same division) said that any development at this end of the town would damage local businesses – including his pub, the Bay Tree, which lies just north of the development site.

He said: “I run a business on South Street, and any development up there is going to damage our town.

“My pub ceases to function properly due to the over-parking in South Street and the amount of traffic.

“My customers are not prepared to leave their cars on the road any more because of the volume of traffic. I think this application is fraught with issues and should be turned down.”

After a lengthy discussion, the committee voted to defer a decision on the plans until later in the year, with councillors asking for officers to provide more information on how the landscape and conservation area would be impacted upon by the new homes.

Neither Mr Hobhouse nor Mr Messenger were able to participate in this vote, having declared an interest in the proposals before the debate commenced.

At the same meeting, the committee voted unanimously to approve plans for 29 new homes on the B3152 Station Road, at the opposite end of the town.