40 new homes in East Brent won from Somerset Council despite local opposition

Contentious plans for a new 40-home housing development in East Brent were approved by Somerset Council this week.

East Brent LVA LLP has applied for general permission to build 40 new homes off Old Bristol Road in East Brent, near Burnham-On-Sea.

Sedgemoor District Council’s development committee initially refused the proposals in August 2020, but this decision was later overturned by the Planning Inspectorate following an appeal.

Edenstone Homes subsequently acquired the site and submitted updated plans in early 2022 – plans which were presented to Somerset Council’s north planning committee for final approval in March and then submitted by this month.

Somerset Council’s north planning committee voted to grant permission when it met on Tuesday (May 14), despite seven councilors abstaining in the final vote.

The development site is classified by the Environment Agency (EA) as being in flood zone 3a, meaning there is at least a 1% chance of it being flooded in the future. To counter this, the draft plans proposed importing 30,000 cubic meters of soil to the site, raising the surface by one metre.

The proposed solution has now been abandoned, with Edenstone choosing instead to install surface water pumps across the site, which will remove water from the new homes in the event of heavy rain.

Access to the site will be via Old Bristol Road, crossing Brock’s Pill Rhyne, with a new footpath provided to link the new homes to key village services.

The amended proposals, known as reserved matters, will see 16 of the 40 homes classed as affordable – the equivalent of 40%, which is higher than the council’s 30% target for any new development of ten homes or more.

130 parking spaces will be provided on site, with a mitigation pond provided at the northern end to further mitigate the risk of flooding.

Several local residents voiced their concerns during Tuesday’s planning committee meeting.

Jane Watkins said: “How do we know that these affordable housing units meet national design standards? Minor adjustments (from previous plans) still leave the remaining 75% in one group.”

“At no stage was I consulted about the sewer or footpath. There is no riparian property drawing and I do not accept sole responsibility for the maintenance of the Rhine on the western boundary.”

May Cardwell added: “The applicant has ignored residents’ concerns about flooding. Our properties are below road level and the council no longer issues sandbags. These modified plans do not seem to have any serious thought in them. They did absolutely nothing to alleviate our concerns.”

And Mark Williams added: “There is still a question of ownership of the land to provide permanent access to the development. The council’s highways team previously said they do not own the land south of the rhyne on Old Bristol Road and therefore will not adopt the road. Therefore, there will be over 40 bins lined up on the road on the collection dates, which could end up in the Rhine.

Cllr Bob Filmer added that access issues related to the development should be resolved before a single foundation is laid. He said: “We could be in a situation where the site is built and cannot be occupied because this access issue cannot be resolved. This impasse must be resolved before construction begins.”

Cllr Brian Bolt told the meeting: “Are we going to end up in the same position here as at Dunball services with the access issue? I don’t want us to shy away from that.”

Somerset Council’s planning officer replied that planning conditions were in place from the East Brent planning agreement to ensure any access issues were resolved before the first homes were occupied.

Cllr Matt Martin, who chaired the meeting, said the Planning Inspectorate’s decision on the outline agreement had put the committee in a corner. He said: “We cannot choose whether we like a thing or not. There are rules we have to follow.”

After more than an hour of debate, the commission voted to approve the plans by two votes to zero, with seven abstentions.

Edenstone Homes (which recently obtained permission to build 139 homes in the coastal town of Watchet) is expected to start construction on the new properties by early 2025.