TAUNTON residents will find out in a matter of days whether more than 1,400 new homes will be built on the edge of their town.

Persimmon Homes South West and Redrow Homes put forward joint plans in December 2021 for phase two of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension, which will deliver new homes at Taunton’s north-eastern edge along with employment sites, a new school and a relief road.

Councillors have voted on three occasions to delay a decision on the plans to give the developers time to come back with improved proposals – with Somerset West and Taunton Council voting to defer in September 2022 and March 2023, and Somerset Council agreeing a further delay in October 2023.

Revised plans for the development were put forward in January – with Somerset Council’s planning committee west due to make a final decision on the proposals on May 1.

Phase one of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension has been largely completed, including the western relief road (WRR) which connects the new homes to the A3259.

However, the employment land identified at the southern edge of phase one, between the A38 and the M5, remains largely undeveloped – with Taunton Deane Borough Council agreeing in January 2019 that some of this land could be released for further housing.

Phase two of the urban extension, now being marketed as Langaller Park, covers the land between the existing homes and the Walford Cross waste depot, along with a small amount of land to the north of Monkton Elm Garden Centre.

The most recent version of the plans envision a total of 1,450 homes, nearly 12 acres of employment land, a ‘through’ school, a ‘district centre’ with local shops, a ‘mobility hub’ and a new eastern relief road to link up with the A38.

Revised plans for phase two of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension in Taunton - EDP
Revised plans for phase two of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension in Taunton - EDP (Revised plans for phase two of the Monkton Heathfield urban extension in Taunton - EDP)

The green space within the site has been significantly rearranged, with the relief road being surrounded by new homes rather then skirting around the southern and eastern edges via a series of roundabouts.

The development, if approved, will provide around £16m for local infrastructure through the community infrastructure levy (CIL) – of which £4m will go directly towards the parish councils in West Monkton and Creech St. Michael for localised projects.

An additional £323,000 has been requested by the Canal and River Trust to upgrade a significant section of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, which will serve as a key walking and cycling route between the new homes and the town centre via the Firepool regeneration site.

Simon Fox, the council’s major planning projects officer, said there were still “several highway issues being assessed”, with West Monkton Parish Council objecting to the new road designs.

The planning committee west will meet in Taunton to discuss the plans on Wednesday, May 1. The meeting will be live-streamed via Microsoft Teams for those unable to attend in person.

If councillors opt for a further deferral, the plans will not come back before the committee until October at the earliest.