9 sites in Somerset which could deliver nearly 4,900 new homes

Somerset West and Taunton Council has been carrying out a review of its Local Plan, which dictates how many homes and new jobs will need to be delivered across the district over the coming years and decades.

The review intends to provide a “snapshot” of the district, identifying which sites are the most likely to be developed and on what time scale.

The delivery of new housing and commercial developments in the district has been greatly impacted by the Dutch N court case and the resulting Natural England guidance – which requires additional mitigation for any new development which could increase phosphate levels on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

The former Taunton Deane area – which includes Bishop’s Lydeard, Taunton, Wellington and Wiveliscombe – has been particularly hamstrung by the ruling, with the council voting in October 2021 to borrow £2million to create new wetlands in a desperate bid to unlock land for new housing.

Artist's impression of redevelopment of 1 Bridge Street in Taunton - Somerset West and Taunton Council.

In light of these restrictions, the council has identified nine sites which will deliver a combined total of 4,898 homes within the next ten years – all of which are at various stages of approval or construction.

The list does not include sites which may become more suitable for development in the near future, nor does it include the council’s own housing projects – such as the Seaward Way council houses in Minehead, or the North Taunton Woolaway Regeneration Programme, or the residential elements of the Coal Orchard regeneration scheme in Taunton town centre.

The list also does not include phase two of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension in Taunton (comprising more than 1,200 homes), since the bulk of the assessment work was carried out in late 2021 before the phase two plans were formally published.

Here is a rundown of the nine sites in question:

1. The Comeytrowe urban extension in Taunton (2,000 homes plus employment units, primary school and ‘park and bus’ facility): the Comeytrowe urban extension (also known as Orchard Grove) is the largest of the three urban extensions around Taunton, lying between the A38 Wellington Road and Honiton Road. Outline permission was granted in April 2018, with numerous applications for different parcels of land within the site coming forward in the following years. The council estimated that 367 homes will have been delivered by April 2027 (along with the new primary school), with the remainder following by 2032
2. The Staplegrove urban extension in Taunton (1,628 homes plus employment units and primary school): the Staplegrove urban extension, in the north-west of Taunton, comprises two separate sites –  Staplegrove West (713 homes and employment land) and Staplegrove East (915 homes and a new primary school). Plans for phase one of the Staplegrove West site, involving the creation of a green buffer around the site, were submitted in April, while outline proposals for the Staplegrove East site are expected to come back before the council’s planning committee later in the year. The council estimates that, pending phosphate mitigation, the first homes could begin construction in 2024
3. The former Wansborough Paper Mill on the B3191 Brendon Road in Watchet (350 homes plus hotel, leisure facilities and “visitor information centre”): Tameer Homes originally proposed to build “up to 400” homes on the former paper mill site (which shut down in 2015), but this has now been revised down to a maximum of 350 homes. The council estimates that a decision on the plans will be taken before the end of the year, though the new homes will not begin construction until 2025/26 due to the need to decontaminate the site, which has already cost the owner in excess of £1million. From there, the site will be built out at the rate of 50 homes a year
4. Land north of the A39 Priest Street in Williton (350 homes plus employment units, leisure facilities and public open space): the Wyndham Estate’s plans for this development were approved by the council’s planning committee in November 2021, with one resident claiming it would turn Williton into “the Milton Keynes of the south”. The developer has indicated it will submit further plans for the site, specifying the design and layout of the homes, by the end of 2022, with a view to beginning construction by 2024. The council estimates that around 40 homes per year will be delivered within the site, though this may accelerate once the initial infrastructure is in place
5. Land at Liddymore Lane in Watchet (250 homes): Summerfield Homes is currently constructing the Liddymore Park development at the edge of Watchet, following approval of a new scheme by the council’s planning committee in June 2021. Improvements to the car park of the neighbouring Knights Templar Primary School have recently been completed, with the first phase of 75 homes due to be available to purchase by early-2023. The council estimates that 39 homes will be delivered on the site per year, meaning the development will be completely built out by April 2029
6. Land at Taunton Road in Bishop’s Lydeard (173 homes): David Wilson Homes is currently constructing the Moorland Gate development of 173 homes at the southern gateway of Bishop’s Lydeard, near the crucial A358 between Taunton and Williton. Approval for the development was granted in April 2019, with the first 63 homes being completed by April 2022. The remaining 110 homes will be delivered over a two-year period, meaning the construction will conclude by early 2024
7. Land east of Doniford Lane in Williton (90 homes): the Wyndham Estate was granted permission for this development by West Somerset Council back in February 2019. The land has since been sold to Linden Homes, which has already constructed 15 homes within what has been christened the Orchard Brooks site. The council estimates that the remaining homes will be delivered by April 2024, with the majority coming on stream within the next 12 months
8. Michael Paul House on Tower Street in Taunton (57 homes): the council’s Taunton 2040 Vision document identified this former office complex as being able to deliver up to 29 new homes. However, planning permission for up to 57 flats within Michael Paul House has been in place since 2019, with the developer indicating to the council that the conversion could be completed by the end of the 2024/25 financial year. The council added: “There are no known legal or ownership problems which could limit future development.”
9. The A3807 Tangier Way and Wood Street in Taunton (unspecified number of homes): a total of 72 extra care apartments has already been delivered on the former Lidl store site on the A3807 Tangier Way by Churchill Retirement Living, in which has been dubbed ‘Riverain Lodge’. Two adjoining sites on Wood Street were identified for development within the council’s Taunton 2040 Vision – the Poundstretcher branch at the corner of the A3027 Bridge Street (which was recently demolished), and the neighbouring ‘Third Way’ site. The council has not specified how many homes these two elements could produce, though it has stated the sites will not come forward until flood prevention work on the left bank of the River Tone has been completed