Decision on 60 homes beside ‘dangerous and uncrossable’ A371 delayed again

Plans to build 60 homes on a "dangerous and uncrossable" road in rural Somerset have been delayed by local councillors for a second time.

The Church Commissioners for England (which handles land and property owned by the Church of England) put forward outline plans in January 2025 to deliver new housing and a community hub south of Roughmoor Lane in Westbury-sub-Mendip, just off the busy A371 between Cheddar and Wells.

Somerset Council's planning committee east *which handles major applications within the former Mendip area) deferred a decision on the plans in early-May due to concerns about pedestrian safety, active travel and over-development.

The same committee has now voted to delay a decision for a second time – and has commissioned an independent assessment over whether the A371 can be made safer to protect both new residents and existing schoolchildren in the village.

The site lies at the western entrance to the village, between the Robert Glanville Playing Fields (which includes the local skate park) and St. Lawrence's Church.

To achieve a safe access into the site, a new junction onto the A371 Stoke Road will be constructed, with the speed limit being cut to 20mph, Roughmoor Lane being closed off, the existing bus stop being moved and a community green space being created.

Land for the planned community hub has been set aside at the eastern end of the site, with the new homes being clustered around a central green space and an attenuation pond being provided at the southern edge to reduce flood risk.

Of the 60 homes planned for the site, 18 will be affordable, meeting the council's 30 per cent target for any new development of ten homes or more within the former Mendip area.

In addition to the affordable homes, the development will provide more than £152,000 for early years education in the village, along with nearly £61,000 for special needs provision.

Additionally, more than £38,000 will be set aside for local health services, with almost £19,000 on top for provision at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Finally more than £43,000 will be provided towards the Strawberry Line active travel route, focussed on delivering an extension west towards Rodney Stoke (with an access from the development site).

Penelope Colwill, vice-chair of Westbury-sub-Mendip Parish Council, criticised the lack of progress made since May when the planning committee east convened in Shepton Mallet on July 9.

She said: "The majority of our community accepts the Roughmoor Lane site is allocated for housing, and we look forward to welcoming new residents into our beautiful village.

"However, if this application is allowed in its current form, the village will be blighted by an even more dangerous road and irreversible damage to the village's character, as well as to the iconic view from the Mendip Hills.

"Despite our invitation to discuss potential solutions, there has been a total absence of meaningful response. Sadly, this comes as no surprise to the community, who believe their concerns and suggested solutions have been dismissed throughout the planning process."

The land is allocated within the Mendip Local Plan Part II to deliver around 40 homes – meaning Somerset Council would need strong reasons for refusing development in this location.

Emma Gifford, who lives on the eastern side of the village, lambasted the developer for not providing a safe pedestrian crossing over the A371, arguing that children living in the new homes would be at serious risk of death or injury.

She said: "While the school can accommodate a sustainable number of families in the village, the children in this development will be risking their lives daily, undertaking nearly 400 unsafe crossings a year just to get to and from school.

"It is completely impossible to cross safely as a children if you're four feet high and you can't see the traffic coming. The applicant's proposal does nothing to address this hazard.

"Crossing the road is the single most unsafe thing that my now-teenage daughter does regularly – she has to cross the road to catch the bus to the Blue School [in Wells] and it puts the fear of God into me.

"The school can't use the playing fields because it's too risky to take the children there."

Local resident David Maguire added: "Our local policies call for a safe crossing.

"The applicants say a controlled crossing is not possible because of sight-lines, but the parish council has offered a solution to this.

"Not providing a safe crossing over the A371 to access key village facilities does not create a safe community – it creates a dangerous divide between the new residents of the proposed estate and the village facilities they would wish to use."

Councillor Heather Shearer (whose Mendip West division includes the site) said she could not support any development which would put future residents, including children, at greater risk.

She said: "I find it hard in all conscience to support any additional development south of what is considered by all to be a dangerous and uncrossable road.

"The residents have continually endeavoured to work with the applicants and try to find ways to make the development less impactful, and they are still trying now to do that.

"They have no problem with having more houses in the village, but the housing has to benefit the village rather than adding to the current dangers."

In the absence of a safe crossing over the A371, the development includes a mown path which connects to existing footpath through the churchyard, emerging onto the main road near The Westbury Inn.

Councillor Susannah Hart (Conservative, Glastonbury) said: "I don't understand why we we're simply not saying: 'We will not give you permission until you acquire the land needed for a safe crossing over that road'.

"Until I hear that the landowner has categorically said 'no', I don't understand why that's not happening.

"If it was your children or your granny in a wheelchair, you would agree with the lived experience of the residents.

"I'm concerned that we're just going 'tick, tick, tick – computer says yes'. No – the computer is wrong, and real-life experience is not wrong."

Councillor Claire Sully (Liberal Democrat, Mendip South) added: "The data on road incidents doesn't include near-misses. I'm sure there are a lot in this area.

"We haven't seen significant change on the areas of concern. The developer not meeting with the community is a mistake."

After around two hours' debate, the committee voted by six votes to five (with one abstention) to defer a decision until an independent road safety assessment had been carried out by highways officers to "fully assess the impacts of the development on highway safety for pedestrian movements across the A371".

The plans will come back before the same committee with this additional report before Christmas.