A PROPOSAL to build 74 new homes on Frome’s Packsaddle Fields has been rejected following a public inquiry.

The planning inspectorate ruled that the development would cause significant harm to the local green space.

Packsaddle Fields, which lies on Frome’s northern edge, has been in public ownership since 1973 and was originally earmarked for a new school.

Somerset County Council announced in March 2022 that it was planning to sell the land off, entering into an agreement with housing association LiveWest, who put forward plans for 74 homes and a children’s home on the site in March 2023.

Somerset Council’s planning committee east (which handles major applications within the former Mendip area) voted to refuse planning permission on January 7, echoing locals’ desire to protect the landscape.

LiveWest lodged an appeal against this decision in March, with the developer locking horns with the council and pressure group People for Packsaddle at a public inquiry held in Shepton Mallet in mid-August.

The Planning Inspectorate has now dismissed the appeal, ruling that the loss of green space would be “substantial and harmful” to the well-being of local residents.

Of the 74 homes planned for the site, 22 per cent would have been affordable (the equivalent of 16 properties) – far below the council’s 30 per cent target for any new development of ten homes or more within the former Mendip area.

LiveWest had also committed to providing nearly £157,000 for local school places, along with more than £248,000 to upgrade the White Row and Beckington roundabouts between Frome and Bath.

Planning inspector Michael Chalk visited the site on August 14 and published his final ruling on the Planning Inspectorate’s official website on Monday (September 29).

Mr Chalk said the proposed development “cannot provide an equivalent quantity of open space” and said the loss of of “passive” access to the site would be “substantial and harmful”.

He said: “The site is an indentation in the built-up area of Frome, neither urban nor countryside in its character.

“The appeal proposal would very substantially reduce the extent of open space that could be enjoyed on site, replacing it with 74 homes and the associated infrastructure.”

Mr Chalk acknowledged that much of the site was “impassable” due to tall grass, hedgerows and over vegetation, stating that the development would improve the existing footpaths.

But he reiterated his opposition to the proposals, arguing that the new homes would lead to “a very substantial reduction in the quantity of space at the site”.

Mr Chalk said that the proposed development would cause “moderate harm” to the character of the local area, in light of its semi-rural location.

He concluded: “The council has an urgent need to provide more affordable housing, with a historic under-supply resulting in a large and growing waiting list. Within this context, there is a dire local need for new housing development.”

People for Packsaddle welcomed Mr Chalk’s decision in a statement on its official Facebook page on Monday evening (September 29).