MORE job opportunities should be created instead of building houses, says independent councillor Mike Rigby, who is calling on Taunton Deane Council to protect land which could be used to create dozens of jobs.

Cllr Rigby, right, says Taunton is losing out on new jobs to Bridgwater and Wellington at a time when commuting is more expensive.

He said: “What we need right now are jobs. The county town can hardly be said to be open for business when we see our employment space continually eroded by residential re-development.

“If we need more housing we need to look at other sites.”

Recent years have seen a number of former employment premises demolished to make way for housing, including Taunton Trading Estate and Taunton Cider Factory.

A council spokesman said: “Between 2004 and April, 2012, only 3.5 hectares of employment land were lost which had not been accounted for in the development plan – we wouldn’t consider this to be a significant figure over an eight-year period.

“Taunton Trading Estate was under-used, many buildings being beyond viable repair, and due to the layout it had large areas of unusable landscaping.”