161 homes planned near Somerset's newest railway station

West of England Developments (Taunton) Ltd., which is based in West Buckland, secured outline planning permission in May 2024 to deliver up to 200 homes on Nynehead Road, which will include the access road to the town's new £15m railway station.

While the new station was formally green-lit in June following the government's spending review, progress on delivering the new spine road has stalled after it emerged "remedial works" needed to be carried out on the existing section, which was delivered when the nearby Lidl supermarket was built.

Following a public consultation in early-September, Bloor Homes South West has submitted new plans to deliver 161 homes within the site - with Somerset Council expected to make a ruling on the proposals in the spring of 2026.

The design of the spine road and the 'station square' which will greet passengers (including the original top of the Wellington Monument) were fixed in separate applications which were approved by the council's planning committee west in March.

Under Bloor's proposals, the land nearest the station will be allocated for new commercial premises - the design of which will be handled via a separate reserved matters application.

In line with the outline planning permission, walking and cycling routes to the new homes will be provided, both along the entire length of the spine road and along the western boundary towards the B3187 Taunton Road.

Green space will still be provided to the west of the new homes, with Bloor intending to plant more than 220 new trees and around 600 metres of native hedgerow.

The homes will each have three or four bedrooms -though none of the properties will be affordable due to the cost of providing phosphate mitigation (as agreed within  the outline planning permission).

However, in line with the signed Section 106 agreement, the developer will provide the following contributions towards local services:

• £573,620 towards walking and cycling links in the vicinity of the development
• £573,000 for new school places
• £124,714 towards the provision of playing pitches and changing facilities
• £89,336 towards the expansion of Wellington Medical Centre
• £50,000 towards the Grand Western Greenway project, which intends to deliver a new walking and cycling route between Wellington and Taunton
• £10,000 towards new allotments

A spokesperson for Carney Sweeney (representing the developer) said: "The site benefits from outline planning permission, which establishes the principle of the development and approval for the spine road and cycle route.

"The layout, appearance, landscaping and scale of the proposed development has evolved through public and stakeholder engagement, pre-application discussions and review by the Council Quality Review Panel.

"The proposals adopt the Taunton Garden Town principles to create a high-quality sense of place and living environment for families."

Bloor Homes has been delivering new homes at several sites across Somerset, including 237 homes at the Evergreen Parade estate on King's Drive in Bridgwater and 130 homes at the Somerton Mead site on Bancombe Road in Somerton.

The Swindon-based developer shortly intends to begin construction on the Staplegrove urban extension in Taunton, with the council signing off on plans for the access point onto the A358 Staplegrove Road in late-June and detailed plans for the first 239 homes currently being deliberated.

The council is expected to make a decision on the Nynehead Road plans early in the new year - with such a decision expected to be taken publicly by its planning committee west (which handles major developments within the former Somerset West and Taunton area) due to the scale and significance of the proposals.

Network Rail is expected to submit a separate application for the railway station, car park and associated facilities within the next six months.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has not given a target date for when the new station (or its sister station in Cullompton, over the border in Devon) will be open to passengers.