A MAJOR housing development in Somerset’s county town could finally get under way in the new year after revised plans were warmly approved by councillors.

The Staplegrove urban extension will eventually deliver more than 1,600 new homes, employment land and a new primary school between the A358 Staplegrove Road and Taunton Road, at the north-western edge of Taunton.

After outline planning permission was granted in 2017, the site has remained in limbo has many years as planning officers and developers wrestled with numerous issues, ranging from viability to nutrient neutrality.

Somerset Council has now approved revised proposals for the western half of the site, which should allow development to finally begin within a matter of months.

Staplegrove is one of three urban extensions (or garden communities) which were identified more than a decade ago for delivering the bulk of Taunton’s new housing in the coming years.

The Staplegrove site has been split into two elements: Staplegrove West, comprising 713 homes and employment land (being delivered by Bloor Homes South West) and Staplegrove East, comprising 915 homes and a primary school (put forward by Ptarmigan Staplegrove Ltd.)

The two sites will be connected by a spine road, which will run from a new T-junction on the A358 Staplegrove Road (east of the Silk Mills roundabout) to a new roundabout onto Taunton Road, where it turns into Kingston Road.

Taunton Deane Borough Council’s planning committee voted to approve planning applications for both elements of the Staplegrove site all the way back in October 2017.

However, the legal agreements between the council and the developers were not signed off before the Dutch N court ruling and the resulting legal advice from Natural England, which was issued in August 2020.

As a result of this legal advice, anyone seeking to build homes within the River Tone catchment area must provide additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

In a bid to kick-start the Staplegrove West site, Somerset West and Taunton Council approved plans to create new wetlands in villages to the north of Taunton in September 2022.

However, these would only provide enough mitigation for the first phase of the western site – revised plans for which were approved in November 2022.

To unlock the remainder of the site, additional mitigation must be secured through upgrades of local waste waste treatment plants, further wetlands or the purchase of phosphate credits (whereby agricultural land in the same catchment is taken out of active use for a period of time).

Wessex Water recently entered into an agreement with Somerset Council to implement “stretch permits” at its Langport, Taunton and Wells treatment plans, which will see additional phosphates removed on top of new standards set under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (known as LURA).

Bloor Homes South West put forward plans in December 2023 which would change four key elements of the Staplegrove West site.

Firstly, the employment land will be relocated from its original location near the A358 to a more central location, allowing the various units to better serve the new homes.

Secondly, the developer will be responsible for delivering the spine road only as far as Whitmore Lane – though this must still be completed within three years of construction starting.

The remaining section, leading to a new roundabout on Taunton Road, will come forward as part of Staplegrove East – though it must be finished by the time 525 homes within Staplegrove West are finished.

The spine road has attracted £14.2m of funding from the government’s housing infrastructure fund (HIF) – with planning officers currently negotiating an extension with the government to ensure this can be spent in full.

Thirdly, the developer wishes to delay the delivery of the new primary school (within the Staplegrove East site), so that it would be delivered by the time 575 homes were built and occupied.

The school was originally required to be in place by the time 250 homes were completed and occupied, with Bloor arguing that Taunton’s falling birth rate and capacity in other neighbouring schools had removed such urgency.

Finally, the developer no longer intends to use Corkscrew Lane as a route for construction traffic, with all HGVs and associated traffic using the A358 instead.

Corkscrew Lane will instead be improved with new pedestrian and cycling links, making it easier for residents of the new homes to access the town centre, local schools and sports facilities.

The use of Corkscrew Lane (known as the ‘drop down road’) was a hot button issue with the plans were first approved in 2017, with residents arguing it would lead to considerable noise and congestion.

Under the revised proposals, the existing pavement along Manor Road will be extended and new cycle lanes will be put in place, allowing easier journeys to the new primary school once it is delivered.

Two new pedestrian crossings are proposed – one on Whitmore Lane, and the other on Corkscrew Lane, providing a safe connection from the new homes to the Taunton Vale sports facilities and on into the town centre.

Around £3.2m will be provided to deliver two key walking and cycling routes which were identified within the Taunton local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP) – a short link from the A3065 Silk Mills Lane along Bindon Road, and a longer route towards the railway station via Clifford Avenue.

A further active travel link from Manor Road to Taunton Academy will be provided as part of the Staplegrove East masterplan.

Ed Firmin, who represents the Staplegrove ward on Taunton Town Council, welcomed the changes which Bloor had made.

He said: “Removing the use of the drop down road onto Corkscrew Lane, and moving the employment land, will give a more cohesive development to residents. It will make it a community.”

David Lawson, a member of the Residents of Staplegrove Action Group (ROSAG) said: “The work to design the optimum connecting route into Taunton, linking up with Clifton Avenue and Bindon Road, could be very effective. This must be put in place very early.

“The biggest concern we have is the risk of flooding, and what may go wrong with the attenuation ponds. There is a real risk of flooding downstream as water runs off the Quantock Hills; Corkscrew Lane and Rectory Road already at times have flooding issues.”

Dixie Darch – who recently stood down as division member for Rowbarton and Staplegrove – added: “To my mind there are a number of gains in this proposal, especially the removal of the drop-down road. Significant improvements to the spine road have been made in line with the Department for Transport’s active travel requirements.

“I don’t think this is a perfect outcome, but it is a workable way forward.”

Members of the planning committee west (which handles major applications within the former Somerset West and Taunton area) largely welcomed the plans, with some minor reservations.

Councillor Gwilym Wren (Upper Tone) said: “The existing Wessex Water sewers in the area are in poor condition, and there has been reference made to the attenuation ponds.

“I did not that the lead local flood authority has signed off on this, so I’m assuming that everybody is broadly happy that this is not going to be a problem.”

Councillor Derek Perry (Rowbarton and Staplegrove) said: “In my view, the overwhelming effect of this is positive.

“Regarding the employment land, the devil is in the detail. The height of the buildings isn’t going to be any higher than the houses, and as long as there is sensible control over what goes in there, I don’t see this as being a deal-breaker.”

Councillor Habib Farbahi (Comeytrowe and Trull) added: “We need to identify a potential site nearby for earth movement, so it minimises the impact of huge lorries transporting materials from A to B.”

After more than an hour’s debate, the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans.

Bloor Homes South West will now put forward a reserved matters application for the first phase of the new homes early in the new year, which may supersede the Redrow designs which were approved in late-2022.

If this application secured approval, construction work could begin in earnest on the green buffer at the western edge of the site, the spine road and the first homes within the site.

Revised plans for the Staplegrove East development are expected to come before the same committee for approval in the spring of 2025 – as will plans for new wetlands south of Corkscrew Lane to offset these new homes.

Ptarmigan Staplegrove Ltd., which controls this element of the urban extension, has already entered into an agreement with Stonewater to deliver the affordable homes within the Staplegrove East site.