Wincanton: Plans for 80 homes plus businesses approved

Hopkins has not yet said which, if any, companies will occupy the site

New homes and businesses are to be built close to a main road as a town continues to expand.

Somerset Council has approved plans for 80 new homes and a number of commercial units near the A303 in Wincanton.

A spokesman for the developer said the plans will enhance the town without harming its "character, amenities, landscape or ecology".

The Vistry Partnership is also helping to deliver the Orchard Grove development to the west of Taunton.

Under the plans, the majority of the homes will be two or three-bedroom properties, plus 157 parking spaces.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, pedestrian and cycling access will open on to Crocker Way, and these will also be for use by emergency vehicles.

The proposed site of new commercial units

The business units will be built in seven blocks, close to the A371, with a new exit from the existing roundabout.

The access road will connect to the existing public right of way which runs along the western border of the site to the New Barns estate.

A spokesman for Place By Design, representing the developer, said: "The... structure was created to complement Wincanton's local character.

"We have a considerate strategy [of] strong landscaped boundaries - integrating existing vegetation - to soften the transition between the site and its surroundings.

"Pedestrian routes will connect the development to the [path] to the west of the site."

Work is expected to start in October 2023. The new homes should be completed by September 2025, with the commercial units following by 2027.