Up to 100 new homes could soon be built on the edge of Wells if revised plans are approved.

Gladman Developments applied in June 2019 to construct the new homes south of the B3139 Elm Close, close to the city’s existing cemetery.

Mendip District Council’s planning board originally voted to grant permission in January 2020, with the proposals being re-approved by Somerset Council’s planning committee east in December 2023 to account for additional phosphate mitigation which was required following the Dutch N court ruling.

Since this decision, the site has been sold to David Wilson Homes, which has put forward revised proposals for the same number of homes and an extension to the cemetery.

Somerset Council is expected to make a decision on these revised proposals by the late-spring.

The site (which is allocated for housing within the Mendip Local Plan Part II) lies between Elm Close and Burcott Lane, a short distance from the busy junction with the A371 Portway leading into the city centre.

Access to the new homes will be via a new junction onto Elm Close, with a new footpath and cycle land being created along the entire northern side of the development site.

The developer has also promised to upgrade two existing public rights of way linking the site to Burcott Lane – one on the western border (where 47 additional homes are proposed) and one to the east, which will run through the extended cemetery.

Of the 100 homes planned for the site, 40 will be affordable, meeting the council’s target of 30 per cent affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more within the former Mendip area.

The new homes will have access to a play area at the south-western corner of the site, with a new attenuation pond being constructed nearby to prevent flooding in the local area.

A spokesman for the Pegasus Group (representing the developer) said: “The proposals will deliver 100 new homes, including the provision of 40 affordable
homes at a time of acute need at both the regional and national level, together with the benefits of the provision of high-quality market housing, landscaping, sustainable drainage and ecological enhancements.

“The proposed play area is to benefit from a high degree of natural surveillance and is designed to act as a focal point within the development.”

Wells lies within the catchment of the River Sheppey, which flows into the River Brue to the south – meaning it lies within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.

To offset any net increase in phosphates from these new homes, new drainage systems will be installed within the site and phosphate credits will be purchased by fallowing agricultural land at Manor Farm in Prestleigh, near Shepton Mallet.

David Wilson Homes is currently delivering two other developments within the former Mendip district – the Somer Meadows estate in Midsomer Norton (comprising 270 homes on the A367 Green Park Road) and the Francis Fields site in Frome (comprising 222 homes either side of the B3092 The Mount).

The council is expected to make a ruling on the Elm Close proposals early in the new year. Due to the scale of the plans, this decision may need to be taken in public by its planning committee east, rather than through the dedicated powers of its planning officers.