PLANS to build homes on the former site of a Somerset primary school have been refused – just days after plans for fewer homes on the same street were approved.
The former Somerset Bridge school site on Hamp Bridge in Bridgwater has been subject to numerous attempts at redevelopment since it closed in 2010, with the school relocating to a new site on Stockmoor Drive.
Chippenham-based firm 3C Commercial Ltd was refused permission to build 36 homes and one office on the site in December 2020, with Sedgemoor District Council citing concerns about flooding and noise levels from the nearby M5.
The council has now refused plans for 31 homes and an office on the same site, put forward by the same developer – just a week after losing an appeal for nine homes a few hundred yards to the west.
The site, which lies at the eastern end of Hamp Bridge, was badly damaged by fire in September 2019.
Under 3C Commercial’s most recent plans, two access points would be provided onto Hamp Bridge, with the majority of the new homes being constructed along the existing road, facing the River Parrett.
The office will be located at the south-east corner of the site, near the existing access to the Squibbers Way relief road.
Stuart Houlet, the council’s assistant director for inward investment and growth, published the council’s reasons for refusing the plans on its planning portal on January 28.
He said: “In the absence of further information, it has not been demonstrated that the site can be drained.
“As such the development could give rise to flood risk or increase flood risk elsewhere, and it has not been adequately demonstrated that the site would be safe for the lifetime of the development.
“In the absence of up-to-date ecology reports to confirm appropriate mitigation for the site, we are unable to confirm compliance with our Local Plan.”
Olympus Holdings Ltd. had applied to build nine homes at the western edge of Hamp Bridge in December 2019, with a new access road being provided just north of the narrow bridge over the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal.
The council refused permission in October 2020, arguing that Hamp Bridge was too narrow to serve as a main link between new homes and the A38 Taunton Road.
The Cambridge-based developer appealed, with the Planning Inspectorate ruling in its favour on January 21 – just seven days before the notice refusing the Somerset Bridge site plans was issued.
Inspector R. E. Jones – who visited the site on November 2, 2021 – argued nine homes would generate less traffic than the school would have done when it was still operational.
He said: “Data indicates that the proposed dwellings would generate around 50 additional vehicle trips a day.
“Spread over the course of the day, this is not a substantial amount of activity, given the presence of other uses that require access along the road.
“Moreover, even though the primary school is no longer in use, it would have generated approximately 270 daily vehicle movements along Hamp Bridge.”
Olympus Holdings ceased trading in June 2021, according to Companies House – meaning it could be some time before another developer steps in to deliver the homes.
It is not currently clear whether 3G Commercial will appeal the council’s decision over its latest proposals for the eastern end of Hamp Bridge.
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