Request for more green travel cash but village homes given go-ahead

MORE than 30 low-cost homes will be delivered in a growing village following a decision by local councillors.

- DANIEL MUMBY Local democracy journalist [e-mail]

Mendip District Council entered into a partnership with Aster Housing in November 2020 to deliver up to 160 low-cost homes across five different sites in Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street.

Aster Housing (which is based in Devizes in Wiltshire) submitted plans in November 2021 to build 33 new homes on Portland Road in Street, next door to the village’s cemetery. Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April 2023) has now given the plans its long-awaited approval, meaning that construction could begin before Christmas.

The site lies to the west of the existing cemetery and south of the village’s substation, being bordered by Cemetery Lane and the existing homes on Portland Drive. Due to the narrowness of Cemetery Lane, the new development will be accessed from a new entrance on Portland Drive, not far from the existing T-junction.

The site is allocated within the council's Mendip Local Plan Part II which was approved in December 2021 to deliver a minimum of 32 new homes.