Plans for 354 homes south of Quantock Road in Bridgwater approved

Persimmon Homes Severn Valley put forward plans for a total of 354 new homes on the southern side of the A39 Quantock Road, to the west of the town’s existing cemetery.

The new development  will be connected to the main road via a new signalised junction, which will also serve a development of 675 homes and a new primary school on the opposite side.

Sedgemoor District Council has agreed that the new homes can go ahead, but has demanded that this new junction be completed before a single home on the southern side of Quantock Road is occupied.

The council’s development committee met virtually on Tuesday morning (March 2) to discuss the proposed development, which will be built out in two phases.

The first phase, comprising 114 homes at the eastern end of the site, will include the new junction on the A39 and a play area at its southern edge.

The second phase, consisting of 240 homes, will see the estate road through the site extended to the west, with a multi-use games area (MUGA) also being provided.

More than £2.2M will be provided by Persimmon Homes towards the new primary school on the northern side of Quantock Road, which could provide schooling for up to 420 pupils.

Up to £4M has been set aside for this school by the northern development, with Somerset County Council at “an advanced stage” of negotiations with all the developers to ensure it can be delivered as soon as humanly possible.

Both sides of Quantock Road are allocated within the council’s Local Plan, with a view to providing up to 1,200 new homes by 2032.

But Councillor Rachael Lilley, whose Bridgwater Wyndham ward includes the site, said that it was unacceptable for this area of Bridgwater to accept more than 1,000 new homes in such a short space of time.

She said: “While we understand the national need for further housing, we object to this application. Given the approval of homes on the other side of the road, we question the timing of this application.

“The proposed new-build properties should be of the same high quality of existing houses. New developments throughout the district frequently have inadequate levels of parking.”

Ms Lilley added that there would be “an obvious increase in vehicle movements” on the A39 as a result of both developments and the ongoing construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

Several councillors criticised the design of the proposed houses, arguing that would not complement the existing homes on Holford Road.

Councillor Stuart Kingham said: “To me, this is very much a typical Persimmon Homes development – very plain. I don’t think it’s completely in keeping with Bridgwater – the design doesn’t do anything for the other houses in the area.”

Councillor Mike Murphy added: “I’m very upset about the actual design and layout – it’s very simple, but it doesn’t have a centre at all. This is not really a walkers’ paradise – everything is cars, cars, cars all over the place.”

Councillor Bill Revans managed to secure an amendment to the plans, stating that the new Quantock Road junction must be completed “prior to first occupancy” – preventing the developers from selling any homes before the access to and from the site was finished.

He said: “I’m very keen that this junction goes in without any hold-ups. We’re aware this road takes a lot of hammer anyway.

“If we’ve got construction vehicles and residents still using this, I would really like to see some way that we can chisel this into tablets of stone.”

Councillor Liz Scott concurred: “This is a very busy road, so the access needs to be addressed – I don’t think I can support it unless it is.”

After around 90 minutes of debate, the committee voted to approve the plans (with Mr Revans’ amendment) by a margin of ten votes to one, with two abstentions.

The Quantock Road site is one of several developments which will be unlocked as a result of the council’s planned £4.7M upgrade to the Dunball roundabout, which connects the town centre to the M5 via the A38 Bristol Road.

The council’s executive committee approved plans to borrow money for the upgrade in late-January, but a start date has not yet been confirmed.