Inquiry to be held to decide on 315 new homes

The proposed site lies next to Exeter Road in Rockwell Green

A public inquiry is to be held early next year to decide on plans for 315 new homes on the edge of a Somerset village.

Gladman Developments has been seeking permission to build the housing estate in Rockwell Green, near Wellington, since October 2023.

The site, which lies between Exeter Road and the Taunton to Exeter railway line, includes 79 affordable homes and a convenience store.

The developer has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, following the lack of a decision from Somerset Council, with the inquiry expected to take place in March 2025.

The site borders the Taunton to Exeter train line to the north and existing housing to the east

The new homes, if approved, would be accessed from a new junction near the entrance to Monument View.

The properties would wrap around the Pitt Farm Park Homes site to the east.

The new convenience store would be situated near Exeter Road, with existing footpaths running through the site being enhanced to provide a link to other village services via the Dobree Park estate.

Of the 315 homes planned for the site (ranging from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses), 25 percent are expected to be affordable – the equivalent of 79 properties.

If permission is secured, Gladman has said it would provide nearly £3m towards local education – including more than £2m for primary and secondary school places and almost £147,000 for special needs provision.

A further £188,000 would also be provided to enhance or expand Wellington Medical Centre or the Luson Surgery.

Greenfield site

Following an earlier court ruling, any new housing development within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area must provide significant mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates.

To offset the impact of the new homes, a new waste water treatment plant would also be constructed at the north-western corner of the site near the railway line.

A spokesman for Gladman Developments said: "While it is acknowledged that the appeal proposal results in a degree of harm to landscape character, this is comparable to that from the development of any greenfield site."

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that the fate of the plans will be settled by a six-day public inquiry, which is expected to get under way on 11 March, 2025.

The final ruling is expected by late spring.