A planning application to build 148 homes on the outskirts of Wells has been refused by Mendip District Council as it would have a negative affect on the surrounding area.

The application for outline planning for residential development of up to 148 dwellings including means of access with all other matters reserved on at Wookey Hole Road, Wells, had been made by Land Allocations Ltd.

The application had been for 104 houses and 44 social housing units on 7.2 hectares of farmland north of Wookey Hole Road, next to the business park and opposite the former Thales site.

Access to the site would have been from Wookey Hole Road via a new access, and it would have been situated opposite another site given approval for 203 homes in April 2018.

The new proposed housing site was outside of the Mendip District Council Local Plan proposed development area for Wells, but it did sit next to the boundary.

However, the proposal has now been thrown out by Mendip planners via a delegated decision, after the officer's report criticised the plan.

It recommended refusal saying that the adverse impact of the development on both the setting of Wells and the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty would "significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of providing additional housing".