PLANNING permission has finally been granted for up to 71 homes on the edge of Minehead.

Williams Partnership, of Minehead, submitted plans to build the properties, on a field off Hopcott Road, to West Somerset Council last December.

But planners deferred making a decision on the application because they wanted more information on how the development would fit in with a wider ‘masterplan’ for the area.

Williams Partnership launched an appeal against West Somerset Council for failing to give notice of a decision within the given time period, which meant that the decision was passed on to a planning inspector.

A report by the Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Joanne Jones, stated that the development is in “favour of sustainable development” and does not require a wider masterplan.

A spokesperson for Williams Partnership said the firm was pleased with the outcome but that it was “frustrating that an appeal was necessary”.

He said: “The development will bring much-needed housing and affordable housing to the area as well as providing a significant amount of money towards local infrastructure improvements.”

As part of the planning permission, a Section 106 agreement has been made between Williams Partnership and West Somerset Council, which will mitigate the impact of the development in the local area.

Under the Section 106 agreement, the development will deliver new footpaths, a cycle path, a road crossing point, a detailed travel plan, 35% affordable housing and around £5,000 per dwelling towards local infrastructure improvements.

A number of objections to the plans were aired online by local residents shortly after the application was submitted, including the increase of traffic in the area.

The inspector recognised that there may be “problems with congestion and speeding” but that the roads were “neither at, nor near capacity”.

“The land will be on the market shortly,” said the spokesperson.

“A developer will need to obtain reserved matters consent and discharge planning conditions before works start, and that will take around six to 12 months.

The developer will then have several years before he is required to start on site, so it is not possible to know when works will start.”