Mendip District Council backs Midsomer Norton housing plan

The development will be created on the A367 near The White Post Inn

A development of 270 homes has been backed unanimously by district councillors.

The homes are set to be built on the southern edge of Midsomer Norton, Somerset, on the A367 Green Park Road, by developers Waddeton Park.

It is one of three sites identified for housing in Mendip District Council's Local Plan to provide a 'natural extension for the town".

The development, near the White Post Inn, will include 81 affordable homes.

Mendip District Council's planning board described the plans as "very promising" as they approved the outline proposals during a meeting on July 20, according to The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

A total of 81 homes on the site will be affordable, said the developers

Simon Steele-Perkins, director of Waddeton Park, said there had been "very few objections from the local community" and the development had been designed to encourage green travel to the town centre.

Chairman of the planning board, Damon Hooton, said the plans formed "the meat in the sandwich" between existing homes and a separate planned development of 75 homes nearby.

Traffic concerns

Councillor Edric Hobbs raised concerns about the impact the new homes would have on the White Post roundabout, which connects the A367 to the B3139 Wells Road.

"I'm aware of the weight of traffic on the White Post roundabout and the surrounding roads, particularly in relation to Norton Down Church," he said.

"Could the developer give me a few quid for some signs to help on that junction, in relation to people coming out of the church down the road," added Mr Hobbs.

The meeting heard that there were plans to create an access link between the Waddeton Park site and existing homes to the north, and discussions over a toucan crossing.