Plans to buy land for a new country park near Taunton could be approved at a meeting on Tuesday (April 10).

Taunton Deane Borough Council will decide whether it will attempt to buy land east of Nerrols Farm as part of its move to create a garden community in Monkton Heathfield.

The new Monkton Heathfield Country Park would be managed by the parish councils in West Monkton and Cheddon Fitzpaine, and is included in their draft joint neighbourhood plan.

The site lies on the north side of the A3259 at Yallands Hill between Taunton and Monkton Heathfield, bordered by Maidenbrook Lane to the west and Allen’s Brook to the east.

The land, comprising some 11.8 hectares (29.16 acres), is currently owned by The Crown Estate and is leased to a local farmer.

The council has intended to create a country park in the area since its core strategy was adopted in 2012, calling for “a country park within the green wedge between Monkton Heathfield and Priorswood”.

Its community scrutiny committee supported the principle of buying the land in October 2017, and planning permission to change the use of the land was secured in January.

In a written report to the full council, planning policy manager Nick Bryant said that the proposal was “an important component” of Taunton’s status as a garden town.

He said: “The finished project would consist of a community woodland/ country park which could be utilised as an asset for a new community forest school being established as part of the wider Monkton Heathfield development.

“It will provide important green links from the planned garden community to the east (Monkton Heathfield) and west (Nerrols), as well as a north/south route improving connections with Hestercombe House, the Quantock Hills AONB and the Taunton urban area.

“It will be linked via footpaths and cycleways and encourage greater use of pedestrian and cycle routes.”

Once the park is completed, the land would be leased from the borough council to West Monkton and Cheddon Fitzpaine parish councils, who would be responsible for its maintenance.

The majority of the funding for the park would come from the New Homes Bonus, a grant paid from central government to local councils to reflect and encourage housing development.

The council is expected to receive more than £3.5M this year from the bonus, according to official government figures.

Both parish councils have agreed to contribute in principle to the budget, with the remaining costs being met through grant funding.

Mr Bryant estimated that up to £120,000 could come from the Heritage Lottery for “wildlife and landscape projects”, and up to £70,000 could be secured from Countryside Stewardship for tree planting, fencing and gates.

The borough council would need to step in and plug the gap if these bids failed, but Mr Bryant said that further New Homes Bonus awards could be used in this instance.

The full breakdown of anticipated costs of the park has not been released, but council documents estimate the potential costs to be in excess of £500,000, measured over a period of five to ten years.

Mr Bryant said that, if the purchase were approved, planting would be carried out in 2019, and a “leaky dam” would be created with the Environment Agency to slow the flow of water running off the Quantock Hills.

The council will meet at Shire Hall on Tuesday (April 10) at 6.30pm to discuss the proposed purchase of the land.

A referendum on the West Monkton and Cheddon Fitzpaine Neighbourhood Plan, which would enshrine the parishes’ commitment to managing the country park, will take place on April 19.