A decision on new homes on the edge of Wells has been delayed for a second time after councillors ran out of time to debate the plans in public.

Wells LVA LLP and Little Burcott Ltd. applied in August 2023 for outline permission to build 47 new homes on the B3139 Elm Close, near the junction with Gypsy Lane.

Somerset Council's planning committee east (which handles major applications within the former Mendip area) voted in early-October to delay a decision, asking for alternative access arrangements to come forward to replace the "cheeky" and "outrageous" original designs.

The same committee met in Shepton Mallet on Tuesday afternoon (November 5) to discuss the updated application, with planning officers recommending that permission be granted.

But a decision has had to be pushed back for a further month after councillors ran out of time to debate the plans in public.

The site lies to the west of a planned development of 100 homes which secured outline planning permission in December 2023 – with David Wilson Homes putting forward amended proposals in October.

Under the current proposals, the existing junction with Gypsy Lane would be completely remodelled to create a new T-junction, with a new cycle lane which will run along the southern side of Elm Close (including the neighbouring development site).

Gypsy Lane will remain accessible via a new junction within the housing estate, and the existing public right of way through the site will be upgraded, providing a safe pedestrian route to Burcott Lane.

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The homes will fan out from the new access route, with the southern edge being set aside for public open space, attenuation ponds and a green buffer to provide a soft edge between Wells and the neighbouring village of Wookey.

Out of the 47 homes planned for the site, 19 will be affordable – the equivalent of 40 per cent of all properties.

Neither this site nor the David Wilson Homes site are identified for housing within the Mendip Local Plan Part II, which was ratified by councillors in December 2021.

Under the council's standing orders (which govern how public meetings are run), any public meeting can and will be immediately adjourned if it has lasted for four hours.

This restriction (which was previously in effect at Somerset County Council) is in place to ensure councillors are alert and of sound mind to make decisions on any given application.

By the time the Gyspy Lane plans were due to be discussed, the committee had been in session for four hours – meaning there was no prospect of any fair or serious debate about these proposals.

Councillor Ros Wyke, whose Mendip West division includes the site, said she was happy to defer a decision but wanted further information by the next time the committee set.

She said: "I would like to see more than one person's opinion on the impact on the landscape of this particular area.

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"There are a number of good national experts who can take views on this. We're doing something instinctively.

"I understand our officers only have limited time and limited access to people – but I think on this occasion, because this is such a critical, historic landscape site, we need to have a third party opinion."

The committee voted to defer a decision for a further month by eight votes to two, with two abstentions.

The committee will hold its final meeting of the calendar year in Shepton Mallet on December 3.