A DEVELOPER'S plans for affordable housing for up to 50 people in a village have impressed the parish council.

LiveWest Homes Ltd have applied to build 20 homes at The Paddocks, off Taunton Road, in Bishops Lydeard.

And most of the homes in the latest application will be sited in a position that has less impact on existing dwellings that a previous plan submitted by a different developer.

Planning permission already exists for ten houses on the overgrown 0.94-acre site. The parish council had opposed those plans submitted by the different company, which now seem set to be scrapped.

LiveWest wants to build seven one-bedroom bungalows, each for two people; one two-bedroom bungalow for two people; two one-bedroom flats over garages, each for two people; two three-bedroom houses, each for five people; three two-bedroom houses, each for four people; and four one-bedroom maisonette apartments, each for two people.

LiveWest representatives held a number of meetings with local councillors before submitting the planning application to Somerset West and Taunton Council.

A statement accompanying the application says: "The design and access statement follows a thorough assessment of the site and its surroundings which has helped to form the final design solution.

"The overall result is a high quality, attractive traditional development that contributes and enhances its setting."

Cllr Mike Rigby, a member of Bishops Lydeard and Cothelstone Parish Council, said: "This site has been the subject of various development proposals over a period of some years.

"Locally, we were not impressed by the previous plans, but we are pleased that LiveWest, the current developer, has worked with local councillors in order to take on board our concerns.

"It is really good to see that this proposal offers 100 per cent affordable housing and that it flips the bulk of the buildings away from the north western boundary of the site, lessening the impact on existing householders."