New Somerset station could be key to hitting housing target

Somerset Council is in the process of creating its new Local Plan, which will determine where new homes, employment and key infrastructure will be delivered across the county up to 2045.

The council will be carrying out the first round of public consultation on the new Local Plan during June and July, with residents being asked to comment on the overall vision ahead of any debate on individual sites being allocated.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, suggested that Somerset's increased housing targets could be more easily met if the Department for Transport (DfT) "dusted off" plans for a new railway station to serve Langport, Somerton and the surrounding villages.

The council's planning team said it was "a question for the public" as to whether this new station should be prioritised within the Local Plan, which will come into effect in April 2029.

Councillor Richard Wilkins at the 'park and bus' site on the Orchard Grove estate in Taunton (Image: Somerset Council)

Mr Wilkins - who represents the Curry Rivel and Langport division - made his comments when the council's planning and transport policy executive sub-committee met in Taunton on April 8.

He said: "On the public transport side of things, have we taken into account the new Wellington railway station, and have we considered the possibility of the government dusting off the Somerton and Langport railway station proposals?

"If the transport secretary did dust off the business case, we would be looking at a slightly different picture - it may be more productive for house-building in that case."

The draft Local Plan identifies a number of key public transport corridors which could be served by future housing growth - including some which could see enhancements as part of additional housing developments.

These include the M5 corridor (which includes Wellington, Taunton, Bridgwater, Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea), the London Waterloo to Exeter St. David's mainline (which includes Crewkerne, Yeovil and Templecombe), and the Bristol to Weymouth mainline (which includes Yeovil, Castle Cary, Bruton and Frome).

Public transport corridors identified within the draft Somerset Local Plan (Image: Somerset Council)

Thandi Zulu, the council's major projects planning officer, responded: "It depends where the business case is.

"With Wellington, the funding is there and it is at the point of delivery, so we are in a position to include that.

"Somerton and Langport, we would like to include - it's a bit further behind in the business case, but it's still there in an aspirational sense in terms of those public transport corridors."

The outline business case for the new railway station was submitted to the DfT by the Langport Transport Group in February 2022 - a case which was backed by £50,000 from Somerset County Council.

The proposals received a significant setback in July 2024 when chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves MP cancelled the restoring your railway fund.

Proposed sites for new stations to serve Langport and Somerton (Image: Langport Transport Group)

The station was not included within Somerset Council's local transport delivery plan, which was approved in mid-March and contained numerous commitments to improving both Somerset's rail services and the existing stations' links to buses and active travel.

Laura Higgins, the council's principal planning policy officer, added: "It's really a question for the public and councillors as to whether this is something we want to do.

"Some of our rural bus routes are currently lower frequency compared to what the government would call a good bus route."

Following its election victory, the Labour government increased local housing targets as part of its pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament - with Somerset's target rising by 41 per cent.

The proposed new Langport railway station site, seen from the A372 Wincanton Road in June 2024 (Image: Daniel Mumby)

Council leader Bill Revans (whose North Petherton division has recently witnessed significant housing growth) questioned whether it was either achievable and desirable to deliver a further 75,000 across Somerset over the next 20 years.

He said: "I think many people would struggle to see that level of demand for that quantity of housing, and recognise the challenge of delivering that in a county with a national park, three national landscapes and a significant flood zone.

"I think there is a considerable challenge that needs to be recognised in delivering that quantity of homes."

The first round of Local Plan consultation (known as a scoping consultation) will be staged between June 19 and July 24, with a number of public events expected to be announced in due course.

Further rounds of consultation will be staged in the autumn of 2027 (on the proposed site allocations) and in the spring of 2028 (following public feedback on the allocations).

The finished Local Plan will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in September 2028, which will then stage further public hearings ahead of its formal adoption in March 2029.

Further discussion of the Local Plan will take place when the council's climate and place scrutiny committee meets in Taunton on Thursday morning (April 23).