ONE of Wellington’s most sensitive heritage sites could be developed for housing after longstanding plans were amended to cut the number of new homes from 29 to 28.

Taunton-based Gadd Properties Ltd bought former care home The Court, off Courtland Road, from Somerset Council during the Covid pandemic.

The care home was closed several years ago after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission rated it as ‘requires improvement’.

Gadd has twice asked for planning permission to convert the main house and to build in its grounds, the last time being two years ago this month.

But, since first engaging with the council on pre-application advice more than three years ago, and despite following the advice given in good faith, the scheme had to be redesigned ‘many times over’ with ‘substantial costs and delays for the applicant’ because successive changes of officer meant the advice had constantly changed.

Now, Gadd has revived the project after addressing numerous concerns raised by highways and conservation officers and others.

Planning consultant Stephen Baimbridge, of Greenslade Taylor Hunt, said alterations were also proposed to the layout, scale, design, and landscaping.

Mr Baimbridge said vehicular access would continue to be available from both Courtland Road and Court Drive, instead of just the latter, which would split movements between the two access points.

He said bollards and landscaping would be used to prevent the road being used as a cut-through to and from Mantle Street.

However, pedestrians and cyclists would have free flow through the 2.5-acre site as the entrance gates would be secured in an open position.

Mr Baimbridge said: “Overall, the proposed revisions duly address material concerns that have been raised and advice that has been given to us.

“We trust that any harm identified to heritage does not provide a strong reason to refuse this application and that any harm identified does not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the scheme.”

Mr Baimbridge said the company expected great weight could be afforded to ‘the public benefits of securing the optimum viable reuse of listed buildings’.

He said in the context of the council not being able to meet its legal obligation to have a five-year housing land supply, significant weight should be given to the provision of new homes in a highly sustainable location.

Mr Baimbridge said planning conditions could now be used to make the application acceptable to the council to limit further cost and delay in deciding the application.

The scheme also involves demolition of the nearby Popham House, a former home for the blind built in the 1950s, and extensions to The Court itself, which is a grade two listed building dating to about 1840.

All three floors of The Court itself would be converted to two-bedroom apartments, while detached and semi-detached two, three, and four-bedroom houses would be built in the grounds along with a terrace of smaller properties.

‘Affordable housing’ would not be included because the development was a ‘brownfield’ site and there would be less residential floorspace than before.