Somerset councillors lose final say on Taunton park plans

The Orchard Grove consortium put forward revised plans in mid-April for the new Hortsbridge Park within the centre of the Orchard Grove estate - which include a new amphitheatre, allotments (with a community building attached), a play area for older children and new walking and cycling links.

The plans were due to be debated in public by Somerset Council's planning committee west when it met in Taunton on Tuesday (October 28).

Following last-minute interventions by Taunton Town Council and Trull Parish Council, the committee voted to defer a decision until new objections could be examined in detail.

However, due to changes in UK planning law which come into force on Saturday (October 31), the final decision on the plans will now be taken by planning officers and not by elected councillors.

Amended plans for Hortsbridge Park on Egremont Road in Taunton (Image: Taylor Wimpey)

The new park will be created north of Egremont Road (the spine road running through the Orchard Grove site), sandwiched between Lipe Hill Lane to the west and Comeytrowe Road and the primary school to the east.

The allotments will be positioned immediately north of Egremont Road, with a vehicular access and car park being constructed near the existing active travel link onto Lipe Hill Lane.

The allotments will include a facilities block (including toilets) and a number of raised beds for elderly or disabled users.

At the eastern end of the site (on the other side of the Galmington Stream), a new amphitheatre will be constructed with a large play area aimed at children aged eight and above.

The public open space will include a "raised polymer boardwalk and bridge" and will be criss-crossed with shared use footpaths and cycle links, connecting the site up with the new homes and the other 'pocket parks' within the Orchard Grove estate.

The plans also provide a safer pedestrian link across Comeytrowe Road near Lloyd Close, linking up with the active travel route towards the town centre via Musgrove Park Hospital (part of the 'blue route' within the Taunton local cycling and walking infrastructure plan, or LCWIP).

Councillor Derek Perry proposed that a decision on the plans be deferred at the beginning of the committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon (October 27).

He said: "There are some recent comments by Taunton Town Council and Trull Parish Council which are significant and fairly extensive.

"There needs to be some further engagement. There is concern that some of the comments that have been made are based on some misunderstanding or misapprehension.

"Our case officer Simon Fox is very keen to go to the town council's planning committee meeting, and indeed Trull Parish Council's meeting, in order to discuss the concerns with them and try and address them."

Western edge of new Hortsbridge Park north of Egremont Road in Taunton (Image: Daniel Mumby)

The park designs are technically classed as a "non-material amendment" to the outline plans - meaning they would not normally be considered significant enough to come before a planning committee for a decision.

Due to the scale and significance of the Orchard Grove development, the council has traditionally used its discretion to ensure every application associated with the site (however minor) comes forward for public discussion.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced in early-June that it would be making changes to the 'national scheme of delegation' - a set of rules which governs which planning applications can come to public committee meetings.

Under these rules, non-material amendments have to be determined by planning officers through their delegated powers - meaning they cannot by law be brought before a public committee.

Under these particular circumstances, the committee members will receive a report from officers regarding their decision on the park plans, but they will not be able to debate it further or overturn the officers' decision.

Aerial view of Orchard Grove Primary School, showing cycle link between Egremont Road and Lipe Hill Lane in Taunton, pictured in September 2024 (Image: Barrett Photographers)

Mr Perry - who represents the Rowbarton and Staplegrove division in north-west Taunton - said: "If we do defer, for what is a totally legitimate reason to maximise engagement, the unintended consequence of that is it can't come back until after October 31 when the law changes.

"This is absolutely not intended to be a way to avoid scrutiny by this committee.

"I'm confident that the matter will be brought back to this committee for an update, for information, for debate and for comments to be made, even if ultimately all we can do is to note the decision."

Neither Taunton Town Council's comments nor those of Trull Parish Council have been published on Somerset Council's planning portal as of Wednesday morning (October 28), and Mr Perry did not give any indication within the public session as to the substance or nature of these concerns.

Mr Perry added: "We were keen to ensure the public were once more able to participate in this matter and observe the decision being made before the new regulations came into force.

Shared used walking and cycling path on Egremont Road within the Orchard Grove site in Taunton (Image: Daniel Mumby)

"But the weight of objection, together with the detailed late submissions from both the town council and parish councils raising a number of new matters, indicates that detailed further consideration and discussion needs to be given to this application before any formal decision can be taken.

"The new law contains no transitional provisions and it makes no difference that the application was submitted, validated or even previously heard by a committee before October 31."

The committee voted to defer a decision on the plans by eight votes to one, with one abstention.

The council's planning officers are expect to issue a decision on the park plans before Christmas.