THE suitability of a West Somerset village for more housebuilding is to be investigated by council officers before planners take a decision on a controversial new development proposal.

Trustees of the Wyndham Estate want to build eight houses on a 1.5-acre site to the north of Huish Lane, Washford.

But parish councillors and local residents lodged strong objections to the plan, pointing to ‘a rapid decline’ in village facilities over the past 10 years leaving it unsuitable for more development.

There was concern over whether there was a need for more affordable housing given that Magna Housing was said to have disposed of three sites and there were already 36 homes which had been approved but not yet built or occupied.

Residents were also worried about the impact of more traffic using a poor access in and out of the site, foul water flooding which was known to happen in the area, and the impact on the setting of the nearby grade two listed Linhay building.

They said the were no safe walking or cycling routes for the proposed new residents and excessive car parking could restrict access for service and emergency vehicles.

Wyndham Estate previously applied to build 14 houses on the site but was refused planning permission in 2020, a decision which was later upheld by an appeals inspector.

It then reduced the number of properties to 10, and later dropped it to the current eight proposed houses, four of which would be two-bedroom, three three-bedroom, and one with four bedrooms.

The trustees’ planning agent Mark Richards, of Savills (UK) Ltd, said the principle of some development on the site had been informally accepted by planning officers in 2018.

Mr Richards said although it was felt that fewer than 10 houses would be an under-use of the land, providing additional households in the village would help to increase patronage and support the long-term viability of local services and facilities.

Councillors attending one the last planning committee meetings before Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) was replaced by the unitary Somerset Council this month were recommended to approve the eight houses.

Planning officer Russell Williams said the reduction in the number of homes was now considered to meet policies which restricted the amount of development which would be acceptable in the village.

Mr Williams, who recommended approving the scheme, said the estate trustees would be required to contribute £487,038 towards affordable housing in the area in lieu of building the units on the site.

However, councillors were not convinced by the arguments for the development and decided to defer the application for officers to review the suitability of Washford for more housing and to look at the level of services and facilities currently available in the village.

The application will now be determined by the new unitary council.