A NEW village housing estate will double in size after planning permission was given for a second development on an adjoining site.

Hallam Land Management secured permission on appeal in February, 2023, to build 80 homes and a takeaway in Dene Road, Cotford St Luke.

The site was then sold a year later to Lovell Homes which won an amended consent in April of this year for what has been christened The Oaks estate.

Hallam applied last December for permission to deliver a further 80 homes north of the Lovell site, which would also include new allotments for the village.

Now, Somerset Council has given Hallam’s plans its broad support, on condition solar panels and other forms of renewable energy can be included.

The site is at the northern edge of the village, bordered by Tithill Lane to the north and Burge Farm Lane to the west, with access via The Oaks estate by extending its spine road.

Hallam senior land and planning manager Hal Parsons told councillors: “This new scheme is a logical next phase to follow the adjacent development being brought through by Lovell Homes.

“This application offers the opportunity to approve a well-thought out and considered scheme, in a location already found by a planning inspector to be a sustainable location.

“Since the adjacent development was considered, the number of households on the housing register in Somerset has, concerningly, increased from 11,387 to 12,773.”

Burge Farm Lane will be enhanced to provide a car-free access to the village with improved links to existing footpaths.

Twenty of the 80 new homes will be affordable, and attenuation ponds will be created at both the northern and southern ends of the estate to reduce the risk of flooding.

Although the two Cotford sites were not allocated for development, they were identified as potential areas for residential development when the former Somerset West and Taunton Council reviewed housing needs in 2020.

Hallam will provide more than £1.48 million for local infrastructure projects through a community infrastructure levy, of which £223,000 will be for projects led by the parish council.

It will also contribute about £244,000 to expanding local schools and more than £38,000 for improvements to a GP surgery in Bishops Lydeard.

Since the site lies within the River Tone catchment area, the development must include additional mitigation to prevent any net increases in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

More than 22 acres of nearby land will be temporarily taken out of active agricultural use to achieve the aim, some of which will become permanent woodland.

The majority of the land will be returned to agricultural use once Wessex Water has completed an upgrade of waste water treatment plants by 2030.

The council planning committee saw about 30 minutes of debate before councillors voted to approve Hallam’s plans by seven votes to one.

An application for the detailed design and layout of the homes, including the role of renewable energy, is expected to be made in the spring of next year.