OCCUPANTS of 10 council houses in a village near Taunton will have to move out while refurbishment works are undertaken.

Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) has submitted a planning application to its own officers for the work on the Woolaway homes in Oake.

The SWT-owned two and three bedroom properties in Oake Close need the rendered walls at ground floor level and the tile hung walls at first floor level replaced with new rendered walls.

The replacement external walls will be built to modern cavity construction to replace faulty Woolaway construction which will result in an increase to the external wall thickness.

There are a number of problems associated with Woolaway homes due to the way they are built.

Instead of using traditional timber, brick of block construction methods, they are made up of concrete frames and panels.

A statement with the planning application says: "Woolaway homes can suffer deterioration that

may affect their life span and the Government has universally designated this house type as defective.

"Water can get through the concrete columns to rust the steel reinforcement bars inside the

columns.

"Corrosion of the steel inside the concrete columns causing the columns to crack.

"Corrosion and disturbance to other structural supports can further impact the columns."

The statement adds: "Whilst Woolaway homes are still safe to live in, this detailed planning application proposal seeks to address the structural issues by refurbishing the SWT properties.

"Residents will need to move out of their homes whilst the refurbishment is undertaken."

They will be offered the chance to move back in following the refurbishment works "if the homes meet their needs".

The plans would result in the homes enjoying "an increased robustness" and thicker external walls.

The refurbished homes will not increase in size, although some internal alterations are proposed for some of the properties, including rearrangement to the first floor to combine the toilet and bathroom into one.

External side stores will be demolished and replaced by rear garden sheds.

And three bedroom mid terrace homes will have the opportunity to add a single bedroom or study/utility space on the ground floor.