Plans approved to build 30 affordable homes in Somerset

An overview of what the development will look like

Plans to build affordable 30 homes in a Somerset village have been approved.

South Somerset District Council has given Stonewater Housing Association permission to build a mixture of one-bedroom flats and two or three-bedroom houses in Flax Court, South Petherton.

All properties will be built to eco-friendly Passivhaus standards, with air source heat pumps instead of gas boilers.

The site will include 66 car parking spaces, including six for visitors.

The housing association applied in November 2020 to build the properties as part of plans to extend the Sam's Acre development which was completed earlier that year.

A decision on the development has been delayed over the ongoing phosphates crisis, which is holding up the delivery of which is holding up the delivery of thousands of new homes within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment areawithin the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area.

South Somerset District Council approved the development, with construction expected to begin before the end of the current year, on 21 December, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The site lies at the western edge of the village, at the end of a larger residential area accessed off Compton Road, the LDRS said.

To offset any increase in phosphates from the development, Stonewater will purchase land downstream of the site near Martock, fallowing the land from agricultural use or further development.

A spokesman for Boon Brown Architects, representing the applicant, said its proposal provide a "variety of properties for a range of occupiers including couples and families large and small".

Stonewater is currently delivering the last of 42 new properties at the Millwater Place development on the A356 North Street in Crewkerne.

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It is also in early discussions with the council over the delivery of a further 50 homes and car park off the A30 East Street in the town centre.

South Petherton has seen significant interest from housing developers in recent times due to its proximity to the A303, being roughly halfway between Yeovil and Ilminster.

Decisions are pending plans for 40 homes on Silver Street and a further 18 homes on Lampreys Lane.