WIVELISCOMBE could soon welcome 25 new homes if plans are approved.

Summerfield Developments has put forward outline plans to build the new homes at Greenway Farm on North Street in Wiveliscombe, at the northern edge of the town.

Numerous local residents have already objected to the plans, arguing they will exacerbate existing pressures on the town’s services and the local road network.

Somerset Council is expected to make a final ruling on the proposals by the early-summer.

A spokesman for Reed Holland Architects (representing the developer) said: “The site provides a unique opportunity to create a new development to the village of Wiveliscombe.

“The site provides areas of open space and reinforces existing landscape features, creating a development which is intrinsically linked to its semi-rural setting and the wider landscape.”

Numerous local residents have already lodged their objections to the plans on the council’s planning portal, citing concerns about pressures on local infrastructure.

William Lawrey, who lives at Footlands Farm, said: “There is no local dentist, an insufficient supermarket, insufficient parking near shops, a lack of space in our local primary school, a lack of capacity at the doctors’ surgery, no A-road, no rail link, no cycle paths and insufficient public transport to Wellington or Taunton for shops and services.

“The B-roads to Taunton and Wellington are inadequate for an increased number of vehicles or HGVs. The nearby comer on Ford Road is dangerously blind and narrow.”

The council’s planning committee west approved plans for 71 new homes on Burges Lane in late-June 2024 – with a decision expected shortly on additional homes within the former Exmoor Ales brewery site.

Councillor Dave Mansell, whose Upper Tone division includes Wiveliscombe, said: “This site is not suited for development.

“It would result in extra traffic going through the town centre and have an adverse impact on the landscape.”