PLANS for 1,600 new homes in Staplegrove were narrowly agreed during a heated four-hour meeting.

The two applications came before Taunton Deane Borough Council's planning committee, and hundreds of members of the public, hoping for approval after being previously deferred at a meeting in September.

Ptarmigan Staplegrove Ltd applied for 713 homes between Whitmore Lane and Silk Mills, while PM Asset Management Ltd applied for 915 homes north of Corkscrew Lane.

The land in question is outlined within Taunton Deane's site allocation development management plan.

Both applications were approved with seven votes to six and one abstention.

Opposing councillors firstly tried to propose both plans were rejected on the grounds of 15 per cent affordable housing and issues with the spine road, which was refused.

Cllr Simon Coles, who proposed the rejection, said: "We've always needed the spine road right up until this planning application.

"In real terms, 15 per cent would equate to 163 houses out of 1,600. It does not comply with our policy and refusing this is a message we should send."

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Then a proposal for referral came through to ask the council to wait to find out the decision regarding the housing infrastructure funding, which would pay for the spine road, which was also refused.

Cllr Ian Morrell, who proposed the deferral, said: "We don't have any more information than we did a few weeks ago.

"We're just placing the burden elsewhere. Who will pay for the spine road if the bid isn't approved? We should be deferring the meeting until the announcement of the funding. Then if it doesn't come through, we should reject."

The issue surrounding affordable housing was that it is normally the council's policy to insist on at least 25 per cent. Council officers informed the room that the 15 per cent was acceptable after an independent study found 25 per cent would not be viable, and that refusing the application on this ground would cause "serious consequences". The 15 per cent would be 60 per cent rented and 40 per cent shared ownership.

Tim Burton, assistant director of planning and environment, said: "Get real. If you don't approve based on 15 per cent affordable housing you'll be getting 25 per cent of no site.

"An appeal is likely if we refuse and that will make us more vulnerable on appeals such as Bagley Road, Rockwell Green.

"It will be harder to fend off appeals from developers trying to build on un-allocated sites if we don't have these numbers from Staplegrove."

Other issues concerning dormice and protected trees caused concern for the position of the junction on Kingston Road. It was decided that the junction could not be moved further north for fears it would intrude on the view from Pyrland Hall.

It was decided that a drop-down road would be installed near to Village World on Corkscrew Lane, with traffic controls in place to avoid the village, despite some councillors and members of the public considering the road "dangerous".