THE next phase of a major low-cost housing scheme in Somerset’s county town can move forward following a key decision by Somerset Council.

The North Taunton Woolaway Project will eventually see 162 ‘defective’ Woolaway homes in the Priorswood area of Taunton demolished and replaced by nearly 230 low-carbon council houses – with a further 27 homes being refurbished.

Phase A of the project is now complete, delivering 47 new homes across five sites, comprising 21 new builds and 26 replacement properties.

The council has now appointed contractors to take forward the next phase of the project, with a further 53 dwellings being delivered once the existing properties have been demolished.

Phases B and C of the project (replacing 136 existing dwellings with 111 higher quality properties) received planning permission from Somerset West and Taunton Council back in July 2022.

Due to the ongoing phosphates crisis, work on these phases has been subdivided to allow planning officers more time to secure mitigation, both within the development site and elsewhere within the River Tone catchment area.

Under the new proposals, Hughes and Salvidge will handle all remaining demolitions under phases B, C and D of the scheme (with phase E comprising the refurbishment of existing homes).

The Portsmouth-based firm will also undertake the demolition of obsolete council properties on Coleridge Crescent and Wordsworth Drive, which will be replaced under a separate scheme.

Council leader Bill Revans added: “It’s lovely to have a good news story.”