Locals could be bypassed over 9,300 new Somerset homes

The Planning and Infrastructure Act, which received royal assent in December 2025, forms the linchpin of the Labour government's pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes across the UK by 2029.

In a bid to streamline the planning process, any planned development of 150 homes or more which councillors or planning officers are minded to refuse will be referred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

MHCLG will decide in each case whether to appoint an inspector to examine the proposals and make a recommendation to housing secretary Steve Reed MP, who will make the final decision.

A Freedom of Information request to Somerset Council has now revealed that 9,339 homes across 30 different sites in Somerset could fall under this new power - potentially shutting local people out of the planning process for the largest new estates in their area.

Somerset's planning system is divided into four areas, reflecting the four former district councils which were abolished in April 2023:

• East, representing the former Mendip area (including Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet, Street and Wells)
• North, representing the former Sedgemoor area (including Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Cheddar, Highbridge and North Petherton)
• West, representing the former Somerset West and Taunton area (including Minehead, Taunton, Watchet, Wellington, Williton and Wiveliscombe)
• South, representing the former South Somerset area (including Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, Somerton, Wincanton and Yeovil)

Somerset Council's headquarters at County Hall in Taunton (Image: Contributed)

The list of sites included within the FoI request covers live planning applications only, including those where councillors have taken a decision in public but where legal agreement remain outstanding.

The list does not include speculative applications or screening requests (such as the Dancing Hill site in North Petherton), and does not include applications submitted before December 2025 (such as the recently published plans for 220 new homes on Rhode Lane in Bridgwater).

The list also excludes the second phase of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension in Taunton (comprising around 1,400 homes) due to delays in agreeing the masterplan for the site.

Of the 9,339 homes which are potentially affected by the new Act, the largest portion falls into area south, with 3,288 homes or 35.2 per cent of all homes affected.

This is followed by area west (2,874 homes, or 30.8 per cent), area north (2,835 homes, or 30.4 per cent) and finally area east (342 homes, or just under 3.7 per cent).

Masterplan for the Mayday Saxonvale regeneration scheme in Frome (Image: Mayday Saxonvale)

The following developments within area east could be affected by the new legislation:

• Plans for 182 homes, commercial space, hotel, lido and community facilities on the Saxonvale regeneration site in Frome
• Plans for 160 homes at Higher Brooks in Street

Mayday Saxonvale secured the backing of Mendip District Council's planning board for its plans in August 2022; however, the legal agreements for the development remain unsigned more than three years on.

The council is currently in the process of selling the Saxonvale site on the open market - with the new owners (whether Mayday Saxonvale or a third party) being required to secure fresh planning permission before any building would could begin.

Revised plans for 750 homes, primary school and community facility on Bower Lane in Bridgwater (Image: Thrive Architects)

The following developments within area north could end up being referred to central government:

• Plans for 750 homes, primary school, community facility and spine road on Bower Lane in Bridgwater
• Plans for 530 homes on the Folletts Farm site on Dunwear Lane in Bridgwater
• Plans for 427 homes and sports pitches on the Brue Farm site on the A38 Hunstpill Road in Highbridge
• Revised plans for 323 homes and new junction south of the A39 Quantock Road in Bridgwater
• Plans for 175 homes on the A38 Taunton Road in North Petherton
• Plans for 170 homes east of the B3141 Woolavington Hill in Woolavington
• Plans for 160 homes on Brymore Way in Cannington
• Plans for 150 homes within the Bridgwater Gateway site on Compass Avenue in Bridgwater
• Plans for 150 homes north of Cossington Lane in Woolavington

The Vistry Group secured approval from Somerset Council's planning committee south for its element of the Bridgwater Gateway site in February 2024; however, the legal agreements have not yet been signed.

Combined masterplan for the Staplegrove urban extension in Taunton (Image: Origin3)

The following sites within area west are in the spotlight under the government's new law:

• Plans for 915 homes, commercial space, primary school, sports pitches, allotments and spine road within the Staplegrove East site east of Kingston Road in Taunton
• Plans for 350 homes (including 80 assisted living flats), local, leisure centre, commercial space and public car park on the former Wansborough Paper Mill site on the B3191 Brendon Road in Watchet
• Plans for 340 homes and relief road within the Ford Farm site on the B3227 Taunton Road in Norton Fitzwarren
• Plans for 335 homes within the Jurston Fields site on the A38 West Buckland Road in Wellington
• Plans for 320 homes on Wardleworth Way in Wellington
• Plans for 239 homes within the Staplegrove West site on the A358 Staplegrove Road in Taunton
• Plans for 230 homes and commercial space on the Parsonage Farm site on the B3191 Brendon Road in Watchet
• Plans for 145 homes, community hub and allotments on Honiton Road in Trull

The Honiton Road proposals, which date back to 2015, have been delayed by the council's ongoing review into the 'green wedges' around Taunton, which is expected to report in early-February.

Masterplan for West Wincanton development of 650 homes in Wincanton

The following developments within area south ay be affected by the change in law:

• Plans for 765 homes, commercial space, community hub, 65-bed care home, health centre, primary school and children's nursery at the Keyford site on the A37 Dorchester Road in Yeovil
• Plans for 650 homes, commercial space, local centre, care home, primary school and children's nursery on the Hook Valley Farm site on the A371 Lawrence Hill in Wincanton
• Plans for 525 homes at the northern end of the Crewkerne Key Site on the A30 Yeovil Road in Crewkerne
• Plans for 325 homes, commercial space, mobility hub and additional railway station parking on the A356 Station Road in Crewkerne
• Revised plans for 252 homes on the A359 Mudford Road in Yeovil
• Revised plans for 236 homes and new roundabout on the A358 Tatworth Road in Chard
• Revised plans for 200 homes on the Station Green site on the A371 Ansford Hill in Castle Cary
• Plans for 185 homes on Watercombe Lane in Yeovil (across two adjoining sites)
• Plans for 150 homes on Broadway Hill in Horton

A design proposal for the 150 homes "South West Horton" development (Image: Contributed)

The Watercombe Lane plans (put forward by Abbey Manor Homes) were approved by the council's planning committee south in April 2025; however, the legal agreements are still being negotiated and finalised.

Many of the listed applications (especially within areas east, south and west) have been delayed as a result of the ongoing phosphates crisis, with developers having to secure additional mitigation to prevent further damage to the Somerset Levels and Moors.

The council has not confirmed how many of these applications will be decided in public by the relevant committee (rather than through the delegated powers of its planning officers) and said that officers' recommendations would not be made public until committee reports had been prepared.

A spokesperson said: "We assess which applications will be decided by committee on a case-by-case basis.

"Information on which applications are recommended for refusal would not be released to the general public prior to committee, as it forms a part of the decision making process."