A small village near Midsomer Norton could rapidly expand in the coming years if a new housing development is given the green light.

Redrow Homes has put forward outline plans to deliver 66 new homes on the B3139 Broadway at the western end of Chilcompton, a stone’s throw from the Gurney Slade quarry.

The Flintshire-based developer has promised to make improvements to two key crossings within the village, which residents claim have been “neglected” by Somerset Council’s highways teams in recent year.

A decision on the proposals is expected to be made within the coming months.

The site lies on the southern side of Broadway at the western edge of the village, wrapping around a planned development of six homes which was first proposed in April 2022.

Access would be from a new entrance onto the B3139, with a new crossing point being put in place to the east and improvements being made to an existing crossing over the B3356 Naish’s Cross.

Of the 66 homes planned for the site, 20 would be affordable – meeting the council’s target of 30 per cent affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more within the former Mendip area.

The development will also include a new children’s play area for the village, a community orchard and allotments for local residents.

A spokesman for Thrive Architects (representing the developer) said: “This is a high-quality resident development, including the delivery of 20 affordable dwellings to boost local housing need in a sustainable location.

“It will be an attractive, ‘landscape-led’ residential development, providing a rich variety of connected landscape spaces, strengthening the defensible edge to the town.

“There is the potential to create biodiversity enhancements through the proposed planting of new trees, along with sustainable drainage features and the introduction of strengthened green infrastructure.”

Local resident Ian Hartley said the development would put additional pressure on the village’s roads, which he claims have been “significantly neglected” by Somerset Council.

He said: “More houses are planned for an already over-populated village.

“This will bring more road traffic into a village which already needs major repairs to its highways, which are significantly neglected by Somerset Council’s highways department – and obviously more noise will be generated by traffic.

“The village school is already full, public transport links are poor, and our amenities and infrastructure (including sewage and drainage) will be put further to the test.”

No additional housing sites within Chilcompton have been allocated within the ongoing review of the Mendip Local Plan Part II, which will be subject to public hearings by the Planning Inspectorate later in the year.

One site on the B3139 Wells Road was included at the early stage of review, but was subsequently omitted before the amended plan was submitted.

The village successfully saw off plans for 95 homes on the B3356 Rock Road, with Gladman Developments’ proposals being refused by Mendip District Council in August 2021 and the subsequent appeal being dismissed in February 2022.

Somerset Council is expected to make a ruling on the proposals by the early-summer.