SOUTH Somerset residents are being invited to have their say on where homes will be built in their towns and villages for the next two decades.

South Somerset District Council is in the process of reviewing its Local Plan, which identifies sites for housing and employment up to 2036.

Following extensive analysis of available sites and initial consultation with key stakeholders, the council has published its list of “preferred options” – sites where housing would best be delivered if it had its way.

These options will go out to the public for further consultation in June, once the local elections have been held in May.

A report on the preferred options came before the council’s district executive committee in Yeovil on February 7.

Under the revised Local Plan, a total of 14,510 new homes would be built up to 2036 at the rate of 726 per year – around two per day.

Of these new homes, one in every three will be built in Yeovil, and one in every 13 will be built across the primary market towns of Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster and Wincanton.

The following sites have been identified within the new Local Plan has preferred options for housing:

Land in north-west Ansford (60 homes)

Land at Brewham Road, Bruton (60 homes)

Land at Frome Road, Bruton (five homes)

Land east of Station Road, Castle Cary (20 homes)

Land east of Crimchard, Chard (38 homes)

Land west of Crimchard, Chard (110 homes)

Land east of Charlton Close, Crewkerne (ten homes)

Land east of Lang Road in Crewkerne (100 homes)

Land to the rear of Penlain, Crewkerne (100 homes)

Land west of Station Road, Crewkerne (270 homes)

Land at Langport Trial Ground, Huish Episcopi (80 homes)

Land between Somerton Road and Wearne Lane, Huish Episcopi (100 homes)

Land north of Dragonfly Close/ Troubridge Park, Ilchester (200 homes)

Land south-west of Canal Way, Ilminster (400 homes)

Land at Shudrick Lane (a.k.a. Shudrick Valley), Ilminster (220 homes)

Land at Station Road, Ilminster (100 homes)

Land north of Coat Road, Martock (55 homes)

Land south of Coat Road, Martock (95 homes)

Land south of Hills Lane, Martock (60 homes)

Land south of Court Lane, Milborne Port (30 homes)

Land north of Wheathill Lane, Milborne Port (110 homes)

Land west of St Cleer’s Orchard, Somerton (140 homes)

Land south of Hospital Lane, South Petherton (45 homes)

Land to the rear of Littlehays, South Petherton (ten homes)

Land at The Tythings, Wincanton (50 homes)

Land west of Wincanton Business Park and New Barns, Wincanton (220 homes)

Land at the Box Factory, Yeovil (85 homes)

Land north west of Brimsmore Key Site, Yeovil (200 homes)

Land east of Brimsmore Gardens, Yeovil (200 homes)

Land at Cattle Market site, Yeovil (80 homes)

Land at Eastville Road, Yeovil (12 homes)

Land at Glovers Walk/ Yeovil bus station, Yeovil (100 homes)

Land south of Keyford Key Site, Yeovil (265 homes)

Land at Mudford Road, Yeovil (25 homes)

Land at Petters Way, Yeovil (20 homes)

Land at the former bus depot, Reckleford, Yeovil (100 homes)

Land north of St Michael’s Road/ Victoria Road, Yeovil (20 homes)

This list does not include areas which have previously been identified as key sites or urban extensions – namely:

The Chard Eastern Development Area, Chard (1,342 homes and 13 hectares of employment land)

The Crewkerne key site, Crewkerne (635 homes, employment land and a 60-bed care home)

The Keyford key site, Yeovil (800 homes, 2.58 hectares of employment land)

The North Sustainable Urban Extension, Yeovil (765 homes, 2.58 hectares of employment land))

The council’s precise estimates for employment land provision have not yet been published – but the following additional sites have been singled out:

Land at Station Road, Ilminster

Land at Bancombe Road, Somerton (expansion of existing trading estate)

Land west of Wincanton Business Park, Wincanton

In addition, a number of parcels of land have been set aside for regeneration efforts (such as in Chard town centre), additional car parking (at Castle Cary railway station) or for securing new primary schools (e.g. on Torbay Road in Castle Cary).

Some sites identified as preferred options either already have planning permission or are in the process of being developed.

These include the Trial Ground site in Huish Episcopi (80 homes, approved in July 2018) and part of the land north of Wheathill Lane in Milborne Port (65 homes, approved November 2018).

Other sites identified are subject to current planning applications – such as land east of Lang Road in Crewkerne and north of Dragonfly Close in Ilchester (both for 150 homes).

A number of Ilminster residents present at the meeting in Yeovil reacted adversely to the inclusion of the Shudrick Valley site, where plans for 200 homes were refused on appeal in 2017.

John Gidlow, chairman of the Save Shudrick Valley Group, said his members “have been kicked in the teeth” by the council’s decision.

Julia Brierley added that they were “most disturbed” by the site’s inclusion and requested that the officer who took this decision be named – a request which the council declined.

Councillor Angie Singleton, portfolio holder for strategic planning, assured councillors and the public that their views would be taken on board.

She said: “There will be many opportunities for members of the public to comment on what is in these proposals, and it will be coming back to this council for approval before anything else happens.”

The precise details and dates of the consultation in June will be announced in due course.

A further round of public consultation will take place in early-2020 before the finalised plan is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Inspectorate will examine the plan in detail, giving its verdict and making any necessary changes in 2021, after which the council will officially adopt the new Local Plan.