Watchet homes approval sparks school traffic safety fears

Residents have raised concerns about traffic congestion in a town in West Somerset at school pick-up and drop-off times as new homes are approved.

Somerset West and Taunton Council approved plans on Thursday for 250 homes at the Liddymore Farm site.

It is a short distance from Knights Templar First School and means extra traffic will use narrow Liddymore Road.

Councillor Loretta Whetlor said: "This will be a nightmare for the people who live there."

The Liddymore Road resident continued: "I'm concerned about the school entrance - it's not a minor issue."

"The cars do not drive at a sensible speed on that road - it's very worrying," she added.

Rosemary Woods, a former Watchet councillor between 2015 and 2019, told the meeting: "At the school's opening and closing time, chaos ensues in Liddymore Road, with children and vehicles competing for space.

"This will get worse with this development."

"The developer is taking paradise and putting up a parking lot," she added, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for the environment, said many of the problems described were not specific to the site - and therefore would not form a watertight case if an appeal was lodged.

She said: "There is a problem in many towns with roads narrowing down to a single car - I don't think that's the applicant's problem."

"Any school has these problems outside it when people drop off or pick up their children. The children from this estate will hopefully be walking to school - or some of them will, anyway."

Following more than two hours' debate, the committee voted to approve the plans by nine votes to one, with three abstentions.