Somerset green space to be paved over by 'a sea of houses'

Green fields near a railway station in Somerset are due to be "lost under a sea of houses" after an appeal to build 200 new homes was granted.

The plan by Wyke Farms and Hopkins Development suggests paving over one of the last undeveloped green spaces between the station and the town centre.

It was refused by Somerset District Council in May 2020 when they argued the homes would create "a highly conspicuous scar upon our countryside", which led to the appeal.

The Planning Inspectorate has now overturned the council's refusal, ruling that the new homes would benefit the wider district in spite of any localised harm to the landscape.

The rural Castle Cary railway station is already a busy at times - it lies on two major rail routes - the mainline between London Paddington and Taunton and the slower stopping service between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth.

It is also the closest station to Glastonbury Festival at its Worthy Farm site.

Hayley Butcher, who chaired the inquiry, visited the site in November 2021 and again in late-April, publishing her report a few weeks later.

She concluded the station was in "a predominantly isolated and rural setting" and therefore there was "no doubt that developing this site as proposed would have visual impacts.

Despite this, Butcher ruled the site did not form part of any designated protected landscape, and did not have sufficient "tranquil characteristics" due to being surrounded by the busy A371 on three sides.

While she agreed the site was "not a suitable location" - insofar as it is not identified for future growth within the council's Local Plan - she said there would be "no adverse impact" on the wider Somerset countryside provided mitigation was in place.

She also stated the benefits of the housing project as, "the proposal would meet a need for affordable housing which at the present time is not being met elsewhere."

Butcher's decision has been greeted by dismay by the Somerset branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Credit: Local Democracy Reporter