Somerset Council looks to ensure new Bridgwater homes won't be cut off

A total of 511 homes will be built in the coming years on the Bridgwater Gateway site, which lies north of the A38 Taunton Road between Bridgwater and North Petherton, a stone’s throw from junction 24 of the motorway.

The council’s planning committee north voted in late-February to grant permission to two separate housing developments on the site – 361 homes on the eastern side (to be delivered by BoKlok Housing Ltd.) and 150 homes on the western edge (to be built by Vistry Partnerships).

Council leader Bill Revans warned in 2022 (while serving on Sedgemoor District Council) that the development could create “a ghetto at the end of a cul-de-sac” unless improved walking and cycling links were delivered to connect the new homes to the nearby Wilstock and Stockmoor estates.

Somerset Council said it was committed to delivering these links, but could not commit to specific improvements until the legal agreements with both developers were signed.

New pedestrian and cycle links leading from a new housing development are typically secured through a Section 106 agreement between the developer and local authority.

This agreement will typically include a lump sum which is allocated for such improvements and a trigger for when such improvements must be delivered (i.e. after a certain number of homes have been built and/ or occupied).

More than six months after the committee voted to approve the plans, neither legal agreement has been signed – meaning that construction work cannot start on either part of the development site.

A spokesman for Vistry Partnerships stated: “The section 106 agreement at Bridgwater Gateway between Vistry and the council has not been signed yet, and until it is we wouldn’t comment on the details.”

BoKlok Housing Ltd was approached by the Local Democracy Reporting Service but did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr Revans raised concerns when the planning committee met in late-February that the new homes would be too isolated from both the neighbouring housing estates and the wider Bridgwater community.

Speaking in his capacity as division member for North Petherton, he said: “There is no access from Stockmoor and Wilstock onto Wilstock Way, so it creates an isolated community.

“Is this an extension to Stockmoor, to Wilstock, or to North Petherton? Nobody seems to know.

“At the moment that are eight spaces at North Petherton Primary School and 14 places at the Somerset Bridge School.

“This development will create 164 primary school children to accommodate – the two schools which are currently there do not have the spaces.

“I’m really concerned about the reduction in affordable housing – this is deeply disappointing.”

Contributions towards local schools, doctors’ surgeries and affordable housing are also typically secured through Section 106 agreements.

Until these agreements are signed and new paths are delivered, people moving into the Bridgwater Gateway site will need to walk along the busy A38 and cross the Huntworth roundabout to reach local facilities, including the primary school, the shops on Nokoto Drive or nearby play areas.

While new and improved paths have recently been added within the Wilstock and Stockmoor Country Park (which serves as a green lung for these two estates), there are no designated pedestrian crossings over this section of Wilstock Way between the roundabout and the country park.

The Bridgwater Gateway lies on the ‘green route’ identified within the Bridgwater local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP), which will eventually run from North Petherton to Chilton Trinity via the A38 and Bridgwater town centre.

Somerset County Council (which created the plan) estimated in 2022 that it would cost between £2.6m and £6.7m to deliver all the ‘missing links’ on the ‘green route’ – a sum which may not include the links to and from the new homes.

Somerset Council said it remained committed to ensuring the Bridgwater Gateway site was properly connected, but detailed proposals would not come forward for some time.

A spokesman said: “We are always looking for opportunities to add to the cycling and walking network in Bridgwater and in this case that would be our aim.

“However this is still at the planning stage and we are unable to provide any further details at the moment.”

While the housing elements of the Bridgwater Gateway site remain in limbo, the remaining commercial components could come forward in the near-future, adding to the existing industrial units, Premier Inn and Costa Coffee on Compass Avenue.

A further ten light industrial units on Carnival Way were approved in May 2023, with a decision expected shortly on plans for a new Lidl supermarket further along the same road.

The council is currently negotiating with Lidl over making a financial contribution towards a new light-controlled pedestrian crossing on Wilstock Way – a proposal which has also attracted support from North Petherton Town Council.

Dan Templeton, director of Planning Potential (which is representing the supermarket), said: “It is not within Lidl’s gift to provide a pedestrian access directly from Wilstock Way.

“Lidl has committed to providing a financial contribution towards the delivery of a new light-controlled pedestrian crossing on Wilstock Way, which will be secured through a Section 106 agreement that is currently being drafted.

“This will ensure that an improved crossing point is provided for customers visiting the store from the Wilstock and Stockmoor area to the north.

“The crossing itself will be delivered by Somerset Council’s highways department as part of planned improvements to the local area.”