A DECISION to approve a 94-home development may have been influenced by a potential £2million councils windfall, according to an official complaint.

Wiveliscombe Civic and Historical Society (WCHS) has reported Taunton Deane Borough Council to the Ombudsman for alleged maladministration over the homes and industrial units project on the town's Sandys Moor.

Councillors on the former authority - which was axed ahead of the creation of Somerset West and Taunton Council - voted through the application for the scheme on an employment site earlier this year.

In its complaint, WCHS cites:

*"inaccuracies and misleading justifications" for the homes in a planning committee report;

*"the potential monetary gain" which "may have influenced preparation of the report in favour of an approval";

*the "length and duration of the meeting" leading to councillors being "too tired to properly consider the application".

The meeting in question had lasted for almost five hours before the Sandys Moor application was debated for just 25 minutes, with the vote coming after 10pm - one councillor suggested at the time it was too late to focus.

WCHS chairman Pauline Homeshaw said a town council study had shown Wiveliscombe has sufficient suitable sites allocated for future housing, with at least two sites identified for affordable homes needs.

She said: "WCHS understands that it is not possible to overturn the decision of the planning authority, but, in the event of maladministration being proved, could the financial benefit come directly to the local community, rather than be spread across the district and beyond?"

The planning committee report outlined how the development could lead to a £1.36million Community Infrastructure Levy, a £600,000 New Homes Bonus for the district council and £152,000 for the county council.

Sandys Moor was fist put forward for business use in the 1980s as the town was losing out to Taunton and Wellington due to lack of suitable space in Ford Road.

It has the benefit of being close to another business site at the former station and is on the Taunton side of Wiveliscombe and as such would keep additional traffic out of the town centre.

A spokesman for Somerset West and Taunton Council - which was replaced the Deane and West Somerset Council when they were axed - said: "The council has formally responded to a complaint relating to this matter and rejects the claim that the committee report included inaccurate and misleading justifications.

"Members of the planning committee agreed, in line with standing orders, extensions of time to enable the meeting to continue.

"Finally, the council would strongly refute any suggestion that non-material planning matters influenced the officer’s report."