Crewkerne development: Plans unveiled for 635 new homes

Plans for a new 635 home development in a Somerset town have been unveiled.

The development in Crewkerne includes new homes, a primary school, care home, work units and a road linking the A30 Yeovil Road to the A356 Station Road.

Designs for the new link road were approved by South Somerset District Council last May.

The authority is due to make a final decision on plans for the first 110 homes at the southern end of the site, and the care home later in the year.

The first proposed homes range from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses, with around 15 per cent being affordable.

Crewkerne Town Council voted to recommend the plans for approval but raised concerns about the density of the development.

Deputy town clerk Laura Gowers said councillors were concerned about the "very close proximity of the residential properties" to the existing industrial area.

"They recommend that it would be beneficial to re-route the roads on the site to increase the distance between the residential dwellings and the industrial areas," she said.

"Alternatively, increased sound barriers would be beneficial."

A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey Exeter said the development not only meets identified housing need but "integrates well with adjacent areas of Crewkerne".

"The scheme retains the key existing site features, delivers high-quality green spaces and streets, providing connections between existing and proposed housing and the wider landscape," he said.

He added "enhanced green spaces" with "native planting" would also link the development to the wider countryside.