Homes to be built on site of former dairy facility

The existing structures on the site will be demolished to make room for the mix of residential and commercial buildings

Long-running plans to redevelop the site of a former dairy facility have taken a step forward after revised plans were approved by councillors.

Yeo Valley Farm and Holt Farms Ltd initially applied in August 2018 for permission to redevelop the storage facility site off the A371 Axbridge Road in Cheddar.

Plans include demolishing the existing buildings to make room for 100 new homes, alongside a 60-bed care home, 12 so-called extra care units, business units and a nursery.

Somerset Council unanimously approved the revised proposals at a meeting on 12 November, meaning work could finally begin in the new year.

The parish council previously objected to the plans due to overdevelopment concerns in the rural area

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the proposal was initially halted following concerns over the capacity of local schools and the impact on the Mendip Hills national landscape - formerly an area of outstanding natural beauty.

However, Sedgemoor District Council voted in November 2020 to allow housing on the site after efforts to market the site purely for commercial use were unsuccessful.

The legal agreements surrounding the site were not signed until May 2023, by which time “a range of commercial risks” surrounding the development had emerged.

This prompted the owners to sell the site to Homes England, which intends to demolish the existing buildings before selling the site on to a third party developer.

The site was previously used by Yeo Valley Farm for distribution and storage

The extra care units, aimed towards people aged 55 and over, would cater to those who were more capable of living independently but wanted access to communal facilities, the plans said.

In addition, five "live and work units" would be designed for self-employed people who wished to work from home, they added.

A new attenuation pond and foul water pumping station would also be created at the southern edge of the site to protect the homes, businesses and the A371 from localised flooding, the plans also said.

The attenuation pond on site will temporarily hold and gradually release water to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall

Councillor Bob Filmer, represented the adjoining Brent division, said: “There was a great deal of interest in this site when it first came forward.

“The tweaks that have been made appear to be improvements.

"I’m glad to see the drainage strategy has moved to an attenuation pond rather than tanks under the ground. Maintenance of that is going to be so much more sensible going forward.

“It seems to me this is a good use of a former brownfield site, bringing in both residential and commercial use."