DOZENS of new homes could be built on Minehead’s main road after revised plans were approved by Somerset councillors.

The Townsend family secured outline permission from Somerset West and Taunton Council in September 2021 to build up to 60 homes south of the A39 Hopcott Road, which runs along Minehead’s southern boundary.

The family put forward revised proposals in June 2023, committing to providing up to 21 affordable homes within the site while maintaining the same agreed layout.

Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April 2023) has now given these revised plans its backing – with further details on the new homes expected to come forward in the new year.

The Townsend site lies between the junctions with Cher and Hopcott Close, on the main road leading to Porlock and the Exmoor National Park.

An existing farm track opposite the junction with Cher will not be used, with a new access road being installed to the west, spiralling up the hill and ending near the existing telecommunications mast.

Minehead Town Council had objected to the plans, citing a “lack of information” about drainage and arguing it would be difficult for residents to access the town centre without using a car.

A spokesman said: “Access to the A39 for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians is a big issue. The site is a long way from any public transport.

“There is a lack of infrastructure and facilities in the town – there is now only one GP surgery in Minehead, and the nearby convenience store has closed.”

The site is the furthest west of three sites south of Hopcott Road which were identified within the West Somerset Local Plan, with the expectation that they would deliver more than 150 homes between them by 2032.

Stratton Land Ltd. is currently constructing 69 homes on the central site (dubbed Exmoor Gate), with surplus soil from the site being recently transported to the former Wansborough Paper Mill in the neighbouring town of Watchet.

The easternmost site, near the Minehead Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite, secured permission in 2016 to deliver a further 80 homes; however, this has now lapsed.

Somerset Council’s planning committee west met in Taunton to discuss the plans on November 19, with officers arguing that the previous granting of permission would make it hard to defend a refusal in the event of an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Senior planning officer Anthony Pick stated in his written report: “While concerns have been raised in relation to infrastructure and facilities, this is an allocated site that has been assessed as part of the Local Plan process as a sustainable location.

“No objections or concerns have been raised with regards to the capacity of the doctor’s surgery or school capacity to cater for the level of residents proposed.

“The principle of development is, therefore, considered acceptable.”

The Townsend family is expected to bring forward a reserved matters application for the site, providing detail on the design and layout of the new homes, early in the new year.