THE decision date nears for planning permission to erect 39 houses on the former Pollards Yard at Eastover in Bridgwater.

Plans for the demolition of existing redundant buildings and construction of 39 homes at the former site of Henry W. Pollard & Sons Ltd on the busy A38 Monmouth Road were submitted in November 2023 and subsequently updated in October 2024.

Pollards & Sons ceased trading in 2021 and was placed into voluntary liquidation. Somerset Joinery remained on the site until October 2022.

Somerset Council was expected to make a decision in the summer, but additional amendments have since been made to the proposal by the applicant. The earliest a decision can be made is November 21, with a committee date set for December 10, 2024.

The 0.64 hectare site is bordered by adjacent properties on Polden Street, St. Johns Street, and the A38 Monmouth Street, where existing access to the site is. Bridgwater Train Station is located less than 600 metres to the east.

Lighthouse Development Consulting intends to regenerate the site through residential development, with the conversion of a three-storey building into six dwellings with an art-deco style, and the construction of 33 new dwellings.

Of the total 39 units, 25 would be three-bed and 14 would be two-bed. The application should provide 15 per cent affordable housing as part of the development.

A statement submitted to Lighthouse Development Consulting states: “The proposals also avoid very high-density blocks of flats as this would be discordant with the character of the area and unsupported by the local community.”