Transport links not secured for 500 new homes near M5

The development will comprise of two sites, one with 150 homes and another with about 360

A council is “looking for opportunities” to ensure more than 500 new homes planned near the M5 will not be cut off.

Until transport links are settled between developers and Somerset Council, work at Bridgwater Gateway site, north of the A38 Taunton Road between Bridgwater and North Petherton, cannot begin.

Council leader Bill Revans raised concerns in 2022 that the development could create "a ghetto" unless improved walking and cycling links were delivered.

But, six months after the plans were approved, the links are yet to be secured.

New pedestrian and cycle links are typically secured through a Section 106 agreement between the developer and local authority.

The council said it was committed to delivering these links, but could not commit to specific improvements until the legal agreements with developers were signed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Contributions towards local schools, doctors' surgeries and affordable housing are also typically secured through the agreement.

In February, Mr Revans raised concerns that the new homes would be too isolated from neighbouring housing estates Stockmoor and Wilstock, and the wider Bridgwater community.

"Is this an extension to Stockmoor, to Wilstock, or to North Petherton? Nobody seems to know," he said.

Agreement not signed

Vistry Partnerships will build 150 homes on the western edge of the site, and 361 homes on the eastern side will be built by BoKlok Housing.

Vistry confirmed the section 106 agreement had not been signed and that it would not "comment on the details" until it had been.

BoKlok did not respond to a request for comment.

Somerset Council estimated in 2022 that it would cost between £2.6m and £6.7m to deliver all the "missing transport links" on the "green route".

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