Town to grow by 20% after hundreds of homes approved

Plans submitted will use land in the west of the town

Plans that will expand the size of a small Somerset town by 20% have been approved by councillors.

Persimmon Homes South West put forward revised plans in October to build 360 new homes on land south of Canal Way in Ilminster, near The Meadows doctors' surgery.

Local residents pleaded with Somerset Council to refuse the planning application, citing the lack of infrastructure, the lack of a new school and no money for upgrading the Stop Line Way active travel route.

But the committee voted to grant permission stating that financial contributions would be secured to offset these issues.

Next to nature reserve

The development site lies between Canal Way and Herne Hill, which was designated as a local nature reserve by South Somerset District Council in July 2018.

Access will be from the Canal Way roundabout, with the existing entrance to The Meadows being altered, and large amounts of green space being provided at the southern edge of the site as it slopes upwards.

The site was originally due to include a new primary school, but the land allocated will be retained by the council and may come forwards in the future for an alternative community facility.

More than 350 new homes have been approved by councillors

'Difficult to reject'

Councillor Martin Wale, who sits on Somerset Council's planning committee, said he and his colleagues found it difficult to reject the plans, despite the opposition.

He told BBC Radio Somerset: "There has to be various statutory consultations... and none of those had any objections.

"There's difficulty in saying 'it's not the right place' when it's part of the planned area for development."

Mr Wale added that it would bring more people into shops and boost the economy, but said he recognises the concerns of local people and he will scrutinise the next set of plans.

Meanwhile, councillor Val Keitch, Ilminster's former mayor, said it was "too many homes in the wrong place".

She said she feared the NHS would not be able to cope with the influx of new residents, adding the destruction of the "green lung" between the town and nearby Donyatt takes away remaining green space in the town.

However she added the town does need new places for people to live.

Offset phosphates

The site is one of more than 50 major housing developments in the former South Somerset Council area which have been delayed by the phosphates crisis, with additional mitigation being needed to prevent any increase in phosphate levels within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.

To offset the increase in phosphates from the new homes, Persimmon is proposing to temporarily fallow around 300 acres of council-owned agricultural land between Herne Hill and the hamlet of Sea.

If no permanent mitigation can be secured after five years (such as the creation of wetlands or upgrading Ilminster’s waste water treatment plant), this land will be planted with trees.