PLANS have been approved for 100 new homes and an expanded cemetery in Wells, following a decision by Somerset Council’s planning officers.

Gladman Developments applied in June 2019 to construct the new homes south of the B3139 Elm Close in Wells, close to the city’s existing cemetery on the A371 Portway.

Mendip District Council’s planning board originally voted to grant permission in January 2020, with the proposals being re-approved by Somerset Council’s planning committee east in December 2023 to account for additional phosphate mitigation (which was required following the Dutch N court ruling).

David Wilson Homes subsequently purchased the site, and put forward revised proposals in October 2024 for the same number of homes and an extension to the cemetery.

Somerset Council has now given these plans the green light, meaning construction could begin some time in the new year.

The site (which is allocated for housing within the Mendip Local Plan Part II) lies between Elm Close and Burcott Lane, a short distance from the busy junction with the A371 Portway leading into the city centre.

Access to the new homes will be via a new junction onto Elm Close, with a new footpath and cycle lane being created along the entire northern side of the development site.

The developer has also promised to upgrade two existing public rights of way linking the site to Burcott Lane, one on the western border (where 47 new homes were approved in January) and one to the east, which will run through the extended cemetery.

Three new pedestrian crossing points will be provided over Elm Close, including one at the north-western corner,connecting the site to the New House Farm site (where 50 home were granted on appeal in August 2024).

The other two crossing points will be at the north-eastern corner of the site, either side of the cemetery extension.

Of the 100 homes planned for the site, 40 will be affordable, meeting the council’s target of 30 per cent affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more within the former Mendip area.

The new homes will have access to a play area at the south-western corner of the site, with a new attenuation pond being constructed nearby to prevent flooding in the local area.

David Wilson Homes is currently delivering two other developments within the former Mendip district, the Somer Meadows estate in Midsomer Norton (comprising 270 homes on the A367 Green Park Road) and the Francis Fields site in Frome (comprising 222 homes either side of the B3092 The Mount).

The plans were approved by the council’s planning officers through their delegated powers, rather than via a public decision by its planning committee east.

Construction on the new homes is likely to begin by the summer of 2026.

The council is expected to make a decision in the coming months on plans for a further 116 homes a few hundred yards to the west of this site, put forward by Gleeson Land Ltd.