CONSTRUCTION has begun on more than 50 new homes in the shadow of the Mendip Hills – more than four years after outline planning permission was first granted.

Hannick Homes was granted outline permission in January 2020 to build 53 new homes on Houlgate Way in Axbridge, on land adjoining Axbridge and Wedmore Medical Practice.

Following protracted legal negotiations, the site was sold to Bellway Homes (South West) Ltd., which put forward amended proposals in December 2022.

Sedgemoor District Council’s development committee voted in favour of these amended proposals in March 2023, in one of its final actions before being replaced by the new Somerset Council.

Following the completion of ground works in July, construction on the new Lavender Rise estate is now officially under way, with the first properties expected to be on the market by the new year.

The site lies at the western edge of the town, on the fringes of the Mendip Hills national landscape (formerly area of outstanding natural beauty, or AONB) and a short distance from the Strawberry Line active travel route, which connects the town to Cheddar.

The new development will comprise 38 three, four, and five-bedroom homes being sold on the open market and 15 shared ownership properties, ranging from one-bedroom maisonettes to four-bedroom homes.

Rachel Way, senior sales manager for Bellway South West, said: “We’ve only just launched Lavender Rise, but it’s apparent there is already considerable interest in the new homes here, in particular in the three-bedroom shared ownership properties we are building here.

“Lavender Rise is in a great location. Axbridge is in the heart of the beautiful Somerset countryside on the edge of the Mendip Hills and less than ten miles from the coast, while the town itself is full of character and charm.

“It’s practical too, with Axbridge Church of England First School Academy just a short walk away, and Fairlands Middle School and Kings Academy for older students less than three miles away in Cheddar.”

Somerset Council is planning to make improvements to the A38 near Axbridge as part of a suite of measures to improve the flow of traffic between the M5 and Bristol Airport, working in partnership with North Somerset Council.

These include an improved crossing for the Strawberry Line over the A38 Bridgwater Road near Axbridge, potentially replacing the existing crossing with a footbridge.

The Lavender Rise show-home is expected to be completed and open to potential buyers by Christmas.