More than 160 new homes will be coming to Castle Cary after plans were unanimously backed by local councillors.

Persimmon Homes Severn Valley secured outline permission from South Somerset District Council in June 2016 to deliver up to 165 new homes on the B3152 Station Road, with land being set aside within the site for a brand new primary school.

The developer put forward a reserved matters application in June 2019, with the number of planned homes being reduced down to 162 following discussions with planning officers.

Somerset Council has now given these revised plans its backing, meaning that construction could ramp up before the year is over.

The revised proposals for the Station Road site will see 162 homes delivered along a central spine road, which will provide a direct link with Torbay Road.

Of these homes, 57 will be affordable, meeting the council’s target of 35 per cent affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more within the former South Somerset area.

Each of the homes will be constructed to high energy efficiency standard, with a number being equipped with solar panels and electric vehicle charging points.

Land within the site has been safeguarded for both an extension to the Torbay Road industrial estate and a new primary school, with the Bristol-based developer also setting aside more than £404,000 towards new school places in the town.

Under the legal agreements for the outline plans, the developer must also provide more than £131,000 towards local changing rooms, nearly £67,000 towards new or existing playing pitches, nearly £85,000 for enhancing community hall facilities (either in Castle Cary or Ansford) and £27,500 towards local youth facilities.

The plans were debated by the council’s planning committee south when it met in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (April 22).

Fletcher Robinson, a trustee of CPRE Somerset, told the committee: “The indicative outline scheme was a good scheme, but it has been replaced with one which, in the opinion of our trustees, is poorly designed.

“It’s a low-density estate of mainly high-value executive homes on large plots, with space being wasted on wide roads and hard-surfaced areas, and the over-provision of 2.2 parking spaces per house despite the close proximity of the town’s railway station.

“This is a bland, ‘anywhere’ estate in defiance of the national design guide, with identikit houses – it lacks identity.”

Vicki Nobles, representing the Care for Cary pressure group, said: “We understand that this site is is in the direction of growth for Castle Cary and Ansford, as per the Local Plan.

“We also understand that the housing land supply, for well-know reasons, is the equivalent of only 2.9 years – and consequently, the tilted balance lies in favour of approval.

“But we would argue that before any decision is taken, this committee needs to be 100 per cent satisfied that this adheres to all local and national policies and that the Section 106 agreement is set in stone, i.e. not to be changed at a later date.”

The development is one of more than 50 across the former South Somerset area which have been delayed by the ongoing phosphates crisis, with the developer needing to secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

To offset the impact of these new homes, Persimmon has purchased phosphate credits from numerous private providers, including some generated from the fallowing of land at Yew Tree Farm near Wraxall.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse (whose Castle Cary division includes the site) said: “This is an infill site now, because the Planning Inspectorate has filled up Station Road with four developments going towards the station, which are partially or fully built out.

“There are no plans to build a new school on the allocated site at this time, because we don’t have a full primary school.

“Persimmon has taken out far too much of the hedge on Station Road. They have admitted this, and I tried to get the enforcement officers to come down - but they failed completely to do their job.”

The developer made headlines in February when it removed a lengthy section of “species rich” hedgerow from Station Road where the new access to these homes is planned to go.

Despite outcry from local residents, both the developer and the council stated at the time that this activity was in line with the outline planning permission.

Planning officer Dawn de Vries clarified at the meeting: “The developer hasn’t actually done anything criminal; they were perhaps a little overzealous. The site has conditions in place about landscaping.”

Councillor Kevin Messenger (the other Castle Cary division member) said: “This application has been going on for a very long time, and we’ve been trying to negotiate things that would be good for Castle Cary.

“The people of Castle Cary feel like they’ve been invaded by developers, and we’ve have had nearly 1,000 new houses should this go through alongside the other developments.

“But there has to come a point where we have to accept these developments. You’re never going to please all of the people all of the time.”

The committee voted unanimously to approve the plans after less than an hour’s discussion.

Speaking after the meeting, Claire Burton, managing director at Persimmon Homes Severn Valley, said: “We’re delighted with the committee’s unanimous decision, which reflects the collaborative effort and careful planning behind this scheme with the council.

“This development will not only provide much-needed new homes for local people, but will also deliver wider benefits including new infrastructure to environmental enhancements and support for the local economy.

“We’re grateful to the council and members for their support and look forward to delivering a high-quality, sustainable development for the local community in Castle Cary.”