SHEPTON Mallet residents will find out in the summer whether hundreds of new homes will be built on their doorstep.

C. G. Fry put forward outline plans back in July 2018 to build up to 620 homes, a primary school, employment units and a care home on the A371 Cannard’s Grave Road at the southern edge of Shepton Mallet.

A decision on the plans has been delayed for nearly six years following viability issues surrounding the site and the need to agree additional phosphates mitigation to prevent unwanted pollution.

Somerset Council has now indicated that a decision on the outline proposals could be taken by councillors in the summer – with more detailed proposals for the first 200 homes to follow on in early-2025.

Access to the new homes will be from a new roundabout on the A371, which will replace the existing T-junction with Little Brooks Lane.

The new primary school and commercial units will be delivered near this new roundabout, with the proposed care home being further to the south near the land allocated for the Mid Somerset Show.

New walking and cycling infrastructure will be delivered through the site and along the A371, linking up to the Strawberry Line active travel route and providing easy access to both Collett Park and the town centre.

A spokesman for C. G. Fry has stated that the original delays surrounding a decision on the plans stemmed from viability concerns, with the Dorset-based developer arguing it could not deliver the required amount of affordable homes on top of contributing to other facilities within the location.

Under the Mendip Local Plan Part I, any development of ten homes or more is expected to provide 30 per cent affordable housing – the equivalent of 186 properties at the Cannard’s Grave site.

A spokesman said: “Initially it was scheme viability and we took the view that the scheme could not provide a policy-compliant amount of affordable housing and remain viable; Mendip District Council disagreed.

“We went through a viability appraisal process and, rather than go to appeal and have a public inquiry, we agreed with the council that we would go to mediation.

“We spent a year negotiating the terms of reference for, and appointing, a mediator and we got as far as a draft statement of common ground.

“However, for reasons only it knows, the council pulled out at the last minute and so that was a completely wasted year.”