COMMUNITY campaigners battling to save green fields in Sedgemoor from development have been given hope.

Sedgemoor planners this week turned down proposals for a development of up to 450 homes on Cokerhurst Farm in Wembdon - a site long identified as a key location for meeting the district's future housing needs - for reasons including the impact on the character of the landscape and surrounding area, and the archaeological importance of an early medieval cemetery on the site.

Neighbours had bombarded the council with letters of objection after the plans were submitted in January, claiming the village's natural beauty would be destroyed and crime and traffic would soar.

Wembdon's district councillor Ann Bown welcomed the decision, which she thinks could give hope to other local communities fighting developments on green fields, such as villagers in the Huntspills and Puriton where land is earmarked for wind farms.

Cllr Bown said: “Because we are seeing more land being built on in areas where it can be built on it is making it more difficult to develop any other green land at this time.”

Campaigner Debbie O'Keefe, whose house in Risedale Close overlooks Cokerhurst Farm, said the whole village was cautiously thrilled by the outcome.

She added: “This is fabulous news but I still think it's a foregone conclusion so I'm making the most of my views while I can.”

Cavanna Homes, the developer behind the proposed Cokerhurst Farm scheme, says it is considering whether to appeal against the decision.