The village of Chilcompton has seen off an appeal by developers, Gladman, to build 95 houses on prime farmland outside the village’s building development limits. Following refusal of the application by Mendip District Council in August last year, at appeal, the Government Inspector decided to dismiss the case.

Commenting on the news, Rich Morgan, Deputy Chairman of Chilcompton Parish Council said: “The village put up a formidable case in front of the Government Inspector and certainly made their presence felt at the Inquiry in a perfectly controlled and professional manner. We had good arguments and valid reasons for rejecting Gladman and our tactics paid off.”

The Application was dismissed on five counts – three of which were resolved before the enquiry.

The main issues therefore were – whether the proposal complied with the spatial strategy of the development plan; the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, including the form of the village and landscape impacts; and whether the services and facilities of the village were able to accommodate the quantum of housing proposed.

Being aware of an increasing number of Planning Applications being put forward by developers to build in the village, some years ago residents of Chilcompton formed a pressure group – CARO (Chilcompton Against Rural Overdevelopment). This group has been successful in seeing off a fair number of developers eager to cash in on the desirability of the village.

Chilcompton has already more than doubled its housing allocation under Mendip Housing Plan Part 1 – a fact acknowledged by Mendip Council when considering the new five-year Mendip Local Land Housing Supply Part II, passed earlier this year.

In his report, the Inspector said that Gladman’s scheme to build 95 new houses would result in a 35 per cent increase in Chilcompton’s housing stock – significantly more than the guideline figure of 15 per cent. In addition, this large estate would change the character and appearance of the village. A fact acknowledged by Rich Morgan: “We do not have the infrastructure for this sort of expansion, which would have affected the look and very fabric of our village and change our rural way of life forever,” he added.