Cyclists and disabled people will not be able to access a planned school in Wells after the housing developer built a set of steps instead of a ramp.

Bovis Homes secured planning permission from Mendip District Council in July 2018 to deliver up to 203 homes on the Priory Fields site on the southern side of Wookey Hole Road, at the north-western edge of the city

As part of the development, land was set aside at the south-eastern corner of the construction site for the future delivery of a new primary school – with Somerset Council refusing to confirm in May how soon this would be delivered.

Bovis Homes has now launched an investigation after a crucial link between this planned school and the Strawberry Line active travel route was constructed as a set of steps, meaning disabled people and cyclists cannot easily access it.

The Strawberry Line provides a car-free route between Wells city centre and numerous housing developments on the western edge of the city – including the neighbouring Rose Banks estate of 220 homes, constructed jointly by Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey.

Under the agreed plans for the Priory Fields site, Bovis Homes was required to provide a pedestrian- and cycle-friendly route which would connect the Strawberry Line to the new homes and provide a safe access to the new school once it is eventually delivered.

The issue was first raised by Tony Hathaway, vice-chairman of St. Cuthbert Out Parish Council (in whose parish the Priory Fields site and several other major developments lie).

In an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: "I visited the Haybridge/ Wells stretch of the Strawberry Line multi-user path on October 2.

"The missing link from the path to the Bovis housing and the proposed new school looks to be nearly complete.

"There is one big problem. They have built a flight of steps rather than a ramp.

"This new link will receive a lot of use from schoolchildren and parents as well as local residents.

"A flight of steps was not shown on the original plans and will be totally unsuitable for those in wheelchairs, using prams or pushchairs or riding a bicycle."

The Vistry Group (which owns Bovis Homes) has launched an investigation into the matter, stating it will comply with the plans which were signed off by the district council.

A spokesman said: "Priory Fields has been constructed according to the plans approved by the local authority, with new wheelchair-accessible cycle paths connecting the site to neighbouring areas.

"The construction of this ramp has only recently been brought to our attention and we are investigating to ensure it has been constructed as per the approved planning permission."

A spokesman for Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April 2023) added: "We are aware there are concerns about this section of pathway. It was designed and built by the developer and we understand they are looking into this.

"In the first instance, we recommend residents raise any concerns they have with the developer.

"If and when the route is adopted by the council, we would need to review its suitability."

The Strawberry Line Society is currently in the process of extending the Wells section of the route to connect up with the short section linking the villages of Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton, which was completed in September.

Work began in early-August on the first phase of this extension, which will eventually link Easton to the Haybridge area of Wells near St. Cuthbert's Mill.