Construction could start in new year after go-ahead for homes near to quarry

NEARLY 50 affordable homes will be built near one of Somerset's main working quarries following a vote by local councillors.

- DANIEL MUMBY

Stoke St Michael LVA ALLP secured permission on appeal in January 2023 to build 47 homes to the east of Coalpit Lane in Stoke St. Michael, near the disused Sammy's Quarry and less than a mile from the still-active Moons Hill Quarry.

Curo Finance Ltd. (which is based in Bath) and Clayewater Homes (which is based in Barnstaple) put forward revised plans for the development in August 2024, revising the number of homes down to 45.

Somerset Council has now given its backing to these amended proposals - meaning construction could start early in the new year.

The site lies at the northern end of the village (which lies roughly half way between Shepton Mallet and Radstock), a short distance from the local primary school and the grade two star listed St. Michael's Church.

Access to the new homes will be via Coalpit Lane, with a pedestrian link being provided at the southeastern corner onto Mill Lane, enhancing an existing public right of way running across the southern part of the site.

The majority of the new properties will be two and three-bedroom houses, and every single home will be affordable (i.e. offered at up to 80 per cent of the market rate) as a result of grant funding secured from Homes England.

Dr Simon Farnsworth, who lives in the village, spoke against the plans when the council's planning committee east (which handles major applications within the former Mendip are) met in Shepton Mallet to discuss the plans on Tuesday afternoon (December 2). He said: "Stoke St. Michael is a small village with limited services and very narrow lanes. There's another site in the village for new houses in the Local Plan.