A planning application to build 90 homes on the edge of Wells has been turned down by Mendip District Council.

Gladman Developments had applied for outline permission to build 90 homes off Glencot Road, on the edge of Wells, Wookey Hole and Haybridge, on a greenfield site that is outside of the Local Plan proposed development area.

Of the 90 homes, 54 were to be sold on the market as usual, while the other 36 would have been affordable housing.

As this was an outline application, it did not include details of the number of rooms these homes would have.

Access to the site would have been via an entrance off Wookey Hole Road, within the existing 30mph speed limit.

However, in refusing the housing development, the planning officer said: "The principle of residential development is considered unacceptable as the site is located outside the defined settlement of Wells, within an area designated as a Green Gap.

"The proposed development will have a detrimental impact on the openness of the rural setting of Wells and contribute to the coalescence of Wells with Haybridge and Wookey Hole.

"The partial loss of a species-rich hedgerow as required for the new access with visibility splays will result in a loss of rural character along this undeveloped section of Wookey Hole Road.

"This will result in an adverse impact to the ecological network of the local area and be to the detriment of the visual amenities of the area, landscape character and the undeveloped setting of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

"Insufficient highway information has been submitted so it has not been possible to fully assess the highway safety implications arising from the proposed development.

"It has not been demonstrated that the development will not have a detrimental impact on highway safety.

"Insufficient information has been submitted to assess whether the proposal will result in an unacceptable increase in phosphate levels within the foul water discharge.

"This could potentially adversely affect the watercourses within the Somerset Levels and Moors catchment area."