More homes as council stands aside

Dozens of new homes could soon be built in a small Somerset village after Somerset Council declined to defend another appeal.

- Daniel Mumby Local democracy reporter

Coleford lies roughly halfway between Frome, Midsomer Norton and Shepton Mallet, only a few miles from the Mendip Hills national landscape (formerly area of outstanding natural beauty, or AONB).

The village is already set to expand in the coming years, with Gladman Developments' plans for 63 homes on the eastern side of Anchor Road being approved on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate in October 2021.

Meanwhile, Rainier Developments Ltd put forward outline proposals in late-February 2024 for a further 75 homes on the opposite side of Anchor Road proposals which were refused by Somerset Council in late-November 2024.

The developer lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in February, with a public inquiry chaired by planning inspector Christopher Baxter being held in the council's offices in Shepton Mallet on Tuesday, June 10.

But the council confirmed at the inquiry that it would not be defending the appeal or calling any witnesses - making it virtually certain that the new homes will be approved.

The site comprises a rough triangle at the northern edge of the village, bordered on its northern side by Brewery Lane, which leads to the neighbouring village of Holcombe. Access would be from Anchor Road via a new junction near the existing homes on the western side of the road, off-setting the traffic from the planned entrance to the Gladman site.

Large amounts of public open space will be provided at the western edge of the site, with two attenuation ponds being installed near Brewery Lane. The developer, which is based in Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire, intends for 23 of the 75 new homes to be affordable meeting the council's target of 30 per cent affordable homes in any new major development in the former Mendip area.