Public inquiry ruling 'shows villages can be protected'

Plans for a “cramped” development in a small village near Frome have been refused following a publicinquiry.

- Daniel Mumby

The Silverwood Partnership applied in December 2024 for permission to build 24 homes on Bath Road in Beckington, opposite the village’s memorial hall.

The Gloucestershire-based land promoter lodged a non-determination appeal against Somerset Council after it failed to make a decision in a timely fashion, resulting in a public inquiry on July 8.

But the Planning Inspectorate has now dismissed the appeal, ruling that the plans would have an unacceptable impact on the local landscape and nearby listed buildings.

Planning inspector Juliet Rogers visited the site on July 9, and published her final report before the council's planning committee east convened in Shepton Mallet on Monday, September 1.

She said that the site lay outside of the settlement boundary of Beckington and the development met “none of the exceptional circumstances which support development in the countryside”.

She added that the site had not been allocated within the Mendip Local Plan Part II (which was recently revised following a judicial review) and was therefore “not suitable for the proposal”