CAMPAIGNERS fighting proposals for 1,500 new homes on their doorstep say “there’s everything to play for”.

Representatives of two groups opposing the development on farmland at Staplegrove between Kingston Road and Silk Mills have lobbied Taunton Deane Council with their views.

Residents of the Staplegrove Action Group (RoSAG) and Whitmore Area Residents Group (WARG) are unhappy about the scheme, which includes a spine road, primary school, community area and employment premises.

WARG’s Chris Fomes said the project is “fundamentally flawed”, claiming:

  • There are fears the spine road to carry traffic around the development and away from Staplegrove will not be “properly co-ordinated, fully funded or delivered in a timely fashion”.
  • There will be problems with a huge increase in traffic and the infrastructure will not be able to cope.
  • Residents will have to commute across town to their workplaces.
  • An outer distributor road away from north Taunton towards the M5 is a “good option” and should be taken up with Somerset County Council.
  • Some houses will probably have to be built before the developers can fund initiatives such as the spine road.

After a meeting with the council Mr Fomes said: “In my opinion there’s still everything to play for, and I’m content that our reservations and doubts are now firmly in the minds of Taunton Deane Council.

“Clearly, a lot now rests on the results of the elections in May, and then the subsequent deliberations from the various planning officers and councillors from May onwards.”

RoSAG’s Jackie Calcroft said building homes before the spine road was completed would be “a train crash waiting to happen”, putting pressure on the existing road infrastructure, and causing delays for people getting to work and accessing the M5.

She said: “Taunton Deane Council was told there’s a growing strength of feeling across north Taunton that the proposed development is unwanted.

“As local residents we must not accept that Staplegrove is a council ‘committed’ site and resign ourselves to defeat.

“RoSAG will continue to explore avenues to try to get a review of this unwanted and unworkable proposal.”

Council representatives told the groups Staplegrove was identified as a site for development in 2012 with 17,000 new homes expected to be built in the district in the next decade or so.