A HUGE business park that aims to bring thousands of jobs to the town is set to be built without normal planning permissions.

Taunton Deane Borough Council met to discuss plans for the Nexus 25 business park, to be located off the M5.

It was agreed that a Local Development Order (LDO) would be adopted instead of a series of planning applications.

Twenty nine councillors said yes, six said no, while 11 abstained.

LDOs were introduced to speed up the planning process. The council sets out the criteria and regulations that the development must meet within the order. Once the developer has shown that the proposals comply with the LDO, the council will grant a formal certificate of compliance that allows development to proceed.

But some councillors had concerns about using this tool on green belt land, and adopting it would be premature ahead of decisions on Highways England’s redevelopment of the A358 and Somerset County Council’s plans to upgrade junction 25 of the M5.

The council will not adopt the LDO until the plans for J25 are approved.

Cllr Roger Habgood said: “It front-loads the planning system, so the hard work is done now.

“All of the issues are tackled up front and the considerations are taken into account.

“It is not a loophole in planning law, and there’s all sorts of myths around using an LDO.

“This is not the first LDO to be used on a green field site.”

Cllrs Ian Morrell and Simon Coles proposed the issue be deferred until the decisions on larger surrounding projects have been made public.

Cllr Coles said: “It is very difficult to make clear and effective decisions when we don’t know the outcome of the A358 and junction 25.

“Although I welcome the site, it is premature to tie the site up when it’s difficult to know how it will work.”

Cllr Morrell said: “We are all in favour of the economic land in the borough, but this is operating on the back of a poorly drafted legal loophole.”

But council leader, John Williams, said none of the projects are contingent on one another.

He said: “I am delighted that everyone is in support of the need for the employment site.

“Highways England is not concerned about Nexus 25, so we can go ahead.

“The LDO will not be adopted until junction 25 is approved.

“It is not being used to save money, it’s for the council to be efficient and attractive to investors.”