FURIOUS councillor Ross Henley says Taunton Deane Borough Council has badly let down Wellington after withdrawing its objection to plans for a large housing development on the edge of town.

Taunton Deane last month decided to stop fighting plans for the construction of up to 205 homes and 60 care apartments, along with public open space and landscaping, on land to the west of Bagley Road at Rockwell Green.

The scheme – put forward by Gladman Developments – had been the subject of a planning inquiry but the council unexpectedly told the inspector to give it permission – much to the anger of local people.

Greg Dyke, clerk to Wellington Town Council, said: “The decision to grant permission for 265 new homes built on a previously unauthorised site, at a time when facilities in the town are already stretched to the limit, has a number of major implications for future development in and around Wellington.”

The town council originally recommended the plan be opposed in February 2017 for reasons including that the site did not fall within the core strategy for development, an adequate supply of allocated building land already existed in Wellington, and that the area did not have sufficient infrastructure to support the scheme.

Taunton Deane – the planning authority – had also objected to the development, until it made a dramatic U-turn. Now Wellington Town Council wants answers on why.

A special meeting of the town council will be held on Monday (August 13) at the United Reformed Church in Fore Street, Wellington, from 5.30pm to discuss the implications of the development. The meeting is open for members of the public to attend.

Cllr Richard Parrish, Taunton Deane’s portfolio holder for planning policy and transportation, and the council’s assistant director of planning and environment, Tim Burton, will attend to explain the reasons why the authority changed its view.

But Cllr Ross Henley, speaking at Monday’s (August 6) meeting of Wellington Town Council, said he felt strongly that Taunton Deane’s leader, Cllr John Williams, should also attend.

“I want to see John Williams here as well, as what’s happened goes right to the top,” said Cllr Henley. “They [Taunton Deane Borough Council] have let Wellington down. They have caved in to the developers.”

But Cllr Will Brown said: “I actually think it was the legal team who made the decision on behalf of Taunton Deane.”

Cllr Marcus Barr said he had read that the Conservative Government at Westminster wanted to build a million new homes a year and intimated that it was ‘obvious’ that Tory-controlled Taunton Deane wanted to do its bit.

“Wellington hasn’t been building its fair share of new homes and so it’s obvious they have to go there,” he said.

The Mayor, Cllr Gary James, stepped in to halt the discussion on Monday night with other councillors wanting to have their say. “We can go round in circles debating this,” he said. “We need to put a lid on it now and speak about it next week at the special meeting.”