Local residents, who have been fighting two large greenfield planning applications in the area, are set to be disappointed this week, with the news that the outline plans for both are due to be approved by B&NES Council's Development Control Committee next Wednesday, 8th May.
The developments, one at the rear of Charlton Park, Fosseway, Midsomer Norton and Monger Lane, near Welton, will see a total of 299 extra homes being built in the area, with the Council under increasing pressure to provide housing whilst waiting for the Core Strategy to be approved.
Campaigners have fought hard against the housing proposals at Charlton Park, forming a Fosseway Campaign Group in recent months. 150 letters of objection were received, with none in support.
Two plans have been submitted for the development, which includes 164 dwellings, a sixty-bed specialist dementia care home and a 200sqm retail/café and business/community space. The second application is the same, minus one home and the community/retail space. Both the applications at Fosseway and Monger Lane are seeking consent for access, with the rest to be determined.
Objectors of the plans are concerned for many reasons. Mainly that greenfield sites, in these cases, agricultural land, will be lost, when, they argue, there are still plenty of brownfield sites ripe for development. This includes land at the Welton, Bibby and Baron site and potentially at the current CFH site in Westfield, if supermarket plans are ultimately unsuccessful. These developments, they argue, will also begin to define new boundaries on the outskirts of town, encouraging more building and leaving new residents with no sense of community.
Another major concern, which the Council notes in its reports, is the lack of sustainability and employment in these developments. Out-commuting in this area is already high and with the loss of two large print and manufacturing businesses and the relocation of Welton, Bibby and Baron, plus inadequate road and rail links, it makes the area an unattractive prospect for new businesses wishing to settle. Congestion is already high, and with extra cars on the road, these developments could cause real highway headaches.
Both Midsomer Norton Town Council and Westfield Parish Council have objected to the plans, with Westfield claiming an adverse impact on the schools and roads and Midsomer Norton citing the greenfield developments unnecessary until other available sites are built upon. Cllrs Chris Watt and Paul Myers, (Midsomer Norton, Redfield) argued that the Somer Valley has a robust supply of housing on current brownfield sites for the next five years and that Midsomer Norton has already provided 74% of its houses required by the Core Strategy, without these developments going ahead, mainly through the two large developments at Withies Bridge and the Alcan Mardon site.
Both the sites at Fosseway and Monger Lane should be providing 35% affordable housing, but this will probably be determined at a later stage. No objections were made by B&NES Highways, subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement to improve cycle and pedestrian infrastructure, public transport access and speed reductions on the Fosseway. The traffic assessment of the site predicted an increase of 11.5% in the morning rush hour and 13.4% in the evenings.
B&NES Council is in a difficult situation. Whilst the Core Strategy is awaiting approval, it is left in a very vulnerable state. National Planning Policy states that where a development plan is absent, silent or out-of-date, the local authority should grant permission, unless there are any adverse impacts that would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the scheme. And, according to the Planning Inspector, the area is simply not providing enough housing and that this should overrule all other concerns, even those of employment and out-commuting. These developments, however, will still need approval in terms of layout, scale and landscaping.
The outline development at Monger Lane, which is due to provide 135 dwellings, has also been hotly fought. Again, this application is outside of the housing development boundary and would cover three agricultural fields, with the site sloping downwards and a natural watercourse running from north to south and coalmining surveys and considerations will need to be addressed, due to its location.
Both Midsomer Norton and Paulton Parish Councils have objected to these plans, with similar concerns to that of the Fosseway development. Officers expressed their concerns regarding sustainability, employment, flooding risk and the loss of green fields, but again the Core Strategy predicament overrules.
B&NES Council is due to launch the 'Placemaking Plan', in conjunction with the Core Strategy soon. This will enable communities to have more say over where these developments should go. However, with planning applications of these sizes coming in before brownfield sites are developed and the Core Strategy approved, will there be any need?