B&NES Councillors have unanimously decided this afternoon to give the green light to the reserved matters planning application for Radstock’s Area 3, as part of the town’s regeneration scheme. Outline planning consent was granted last January.

This means that Linden Homes can now start developing the ecologically sensitive site, providing 71 three, four and five bed open market houses after over a decade of discussion.

Campaigners against developing the railway land have argued that contamination, river safety and the privacy of nearby Meadow View residents are all issues on this section of land, and many will be wondering how railway aspirations for this site will now be able to progress as a result of this decision.

Councillors Colin Currie (Radstock Town Council) and Eleanor Jackson (Westfield Parish Council) spoke against the application, with Gary Dando and Eleanor Jackson also speaking against the plans on behalf of the Meadow View Residents Association. Cllr Jackson described the development as "inappropriate urban design which would be transposed onto a virgin meadow", and emphasised the need for safety in the Kilmersdon Brook area, which B&NES officers will now be negotiating the management of with Linden Homes as part of their planning conditions.

Representatives from Linden Homes and the Norton Radstock Regeneration Company stressed that they needed to maintain the momentum of the scheme, which sees Area Two now completed and sold, and that the viability of the site had been "very constrained." A spokesperson for the developer said that every measure is in place to review contamination and drainage issues and had worked hard to satisfy the local authority.

Cate Le Grice-Mack, Chair of NRR, said at the meeting: "There has been significant time and effort spent to make sure these plans are appropriate, and it is now very important that the Brunel Shed is brought back to use, as it is integral to the modern use of the railway land."

Cllr Les Kew, who was chairing the meeting, reminded councillors that the application had already been approved in principle, due to outline planning, with Cllr Paul Crossley, who was Lib-Dem Leader of the Council up until the election this year and had been pushing the Radstock and Keynsham regeneration schemes during this time, adding: "The scheme has moved with the times and is providing good quality homes, improved bus networks and facilities brought back into community use. As with any application, not everyone will be pleased, and certainly the railway lobby groups would like better, but you can’t have everything from the word go."

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the planning application, with conditions. More on this in next week’s paper.