Wells residents are being urged to have their say on fresh plans to turn a historic Tucker Street pub into homes.

The Cheddar Valley Inn, at 22 Tucker Street, is the subject of a new planning application to convert the pub into two residential dwellings, with associated hard and soft landscaping and parking.

The application, submitted under reference 2026/0878/FUL, is the latest proposal affecting the site. The 18th-century pub is a non-designated heritage asset and sits within Wells Conservation Area.

Red Oak Taverns, which owns the pub, previously applied to build two three-bedroom homes on the site of an existing ancillary building, with landscaping and parking, while keeping the pub itself. Somerset Council refused that application, citing "insufficient and inconsistent information" to assess whether the access and parking arrangements would be acceptable and maintain highway safety standards.

The latest proposal would go further by changing the pub into homes. At the time of the source material, one public objection had been submitted to the application.

Somerset Waste Partnership has raised no objection to the proposal. In a comment dated Wednesday, 3 June, Waste Services said it had no objection to the development.

Wells City Council has also supported the application. The parish clerk's comment, dated Tuesday, 2 June, records a recommendation to support the plans on the material consideration of design and appearance.

Objector Myles Carey said the Cheddar Valley Inn was an important part of local history and community life in Tucker Street and Burcott, and should remain as a public house.

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He said: "The Cheddar Valley is a significant part of local history and communal importance to Tucker Street and the Burcott area as a public house and should remain as such.

"Notably for those within the local area and Wells in general, it serves as a community hub for residents and local sports teams."

Mr Carey said the pub's signage reflected the area's railway history, with imagery linked to the former Cheddar Valley railway line and the former Burcott Bridge.

He added: "Wells has unfortunately lost a considerable amount of public houses within the last two decades and the Cheddar Valley serves as the only remaining public house on the boundary of the Burcott area and that west of the city centre of traditional aesthetic with its origins dating back to the 19th century."

In his objection, Mr Carey said the loss of the pub and removal of signage and other features would have "a profoundly negative historical and communal impact" on the local area. He said Red Oak Taverns should sell the freehold if it was unable to support the pub's financial viability.

The site has been the subject of previous planning attempts, including proposals linked to residential development of outbuildings. A previous application to demolish outbuildings for new housing was refused, while permission was later granted for conversion of an outbuilding into a one-bedroom bungalow and the erection of a new two-bedroom bungalow nearby.

Not all past comments on the principle of residential use have been opposed. In an earlier application, Malcolm Gay supported converting the Cheddar Valley Inn to housing, saying the proposed design would improve the appearance of the corner.

He said: "As a pub, it has been noisy at times but the real issue has been how it looks as there was a broken upstairs window for a long time. The proposed design complements surrounding buildings and really improves the visual statement on the corner of our road."

Anyone who wants to view or comment on the latest application can search the Somerset Planning Portal using reference 2026/0878/FUL.

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