Developer appeals over delay in 73-home decision near Yeovil

An authority is facing a legal battle over an application to build 73 homes in Somerset after a developer launched an appeal.

Land Allocation Ltd applied to build the homes south of Tintinhull Road in Chilthorne Domer, a mile from north Yeovil, in August 2020.

However, a decision has not been made by South Somerset District Council or its successor Somerset Council.

The council cannot comment while the case is with the Planning Inspectorate.

The developer has launched its appeal on the grounds of non-determination.

It has told the planning inspector that the authority has not made a decision in reasonable time, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The proposed site lies at the south-eastern edge of Chilthorne Domer, near the village's primary school and the Carpenters Arms pub, which closed in January.

Access to the new development would be from Tintinhull Road.

Of the 73 new homes planned within the site, 26 would be affordable, meeting the council's target of 35% affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more.

Penny Maddon QC said residents in the local villages do not support the application "at all"

Penny Maddon KC, writing on behalf of the residents of Chilthorne Domer and Thorne Coffin, said there was "unanimous and overwhelming opposition" to the plans within the local area.

"We wish to ensure that these historic villages are not swallowed up as part of the urban development sprawl into Yeovil's surrounding countryside, which will irretrievably destroy the character and community of these historic villages.

"There is no support at all for the appealed development [from] the residents of either village," she added.

Opposite the proposed site, on Vagg lane, a separate planned development of 28 homes by Magna Housing, is awaiting approval.

Less than a mile away, at the Brimsmore Key Site, Wyatt Homes is building 976 homes on one of the major urban extensions identified within the South Somerset Local Plan.

A spokesperson for AAH Planning, representing the developer, said the "significant social, economic and environmental benefits" of the development "outweigh the limited harms caused by virtue of the proposal's conflict with the existing out-of-date local plan policies."

The spokesperson said the council has "not acted positively, particularly when there is a housing shortfall... and it cannot demonstrate a five-year housing-land supply."

The council's planning inspector is expected to visit the site before the end of the year, with a final ruling being expected after Christmas.