Homes within view of Glastonbury Tor 'a travesty'

Councillors feared for the views of the historic Glastonbury Tor

A bid to build new homes within view of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset has been called a "travesty".

Developer T&A Land Associates Ltd wants to attach 24 homes to a new estate next to Cullen Farm Road, in Glastonbury.

But Somerset Council's planning committee refused the application on Tuesday, with councillor Susanna Hart, whose Glastonbury division includes the site, saying “it would be a travesty if we allow this to happen".

Glastonbury's mayor, councillor Lokabee Lokabandhu, added: “We are pursuing applying to become a world heritage site, the only one in Somerset, and we would love to preserve the tor and the landscape around it as much as possible as part of that process.”

The estate was proposed to be attached to a 60-home development that is currently in progress

The site was not included in the former Mendip District Council local plan in December 2021, before the council merged with others into Somerset Council.

However, the process is being revised after a successful legal challenge, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) says.

The LDRS added Glastonbury was expected to deliver a significant amount of new housing over the next decade.

'Hugely unpopular'

The mayor added: “We would hate for our landscape around the tor to be filled up with housing, spoiling the views."

Hart added: “This is hugely unpopular in the town. It’s in open pasture land, near the most important site in the south west until we get to Stonehenge."

The planning committee argued it was important to “protect what’s left” of the beloved landscape

The developer has yet indicated whether it intends to challenge the refusal by lodging an appeal with the government's Planning Inspectorate.