DESIGNS for a new road connecting 2,000 homes to the A38 in Taunton have been approved, despite locals warning they are “not fit for purpose” writes Oliver Palmen.

Taunton Deane Borough Council granted outline permission in April 2018 for the new homes between the A38 Wellington Road near Rumwell and Honiton Road in Trull.

The development will eventually include a primary school, employment units, play areas, a local centre and a ‘park and bus’ facility.

Somerset West and Taunton Council has now given the go-ahead to the infrastructure planned for the site’s 'western neighbourhood' – which runs from the A38 to the primary school’s location.

The council’s planning committee heard from a number of concerned locals when it met in Taunton to discuss the plans on Thursday afternoon (March 12).

Councillor Simon Coles, who chairs the committee, reminded the public: “This is an application for the infrastructure on the site.

“It is not about the size or layout of the site – they will come forward in the fullness of time.”

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Retired wing commander Anthony Kent – who sits on Trull Parish Council – argued that the Galmington Stream, which flows through the site, could easily flood if adequate measures were not put in place.

He said: “These houses may take 20 years to build. Assuming they will stand for 50 years, we must look at infrastructure that works for today and for the future. We must get it right.

“The soil has low permeability, so all the surface water has to find its way into the Galmington Stream. The plan has not considered the rapid rise in the stream’s level after heavy rain and saturated ground.

“There are too many unknowns and no provision for what would happen in the future.”

Alan Sawyer called for a decision to be deferred “in light of the climate crisis”, fearing the development could damage local biodiversity.

He said: “The green infrastructure areas in this proposal are too small and isolated, and often have competing uses.

“New planting will not compensate for the loss of species-rich hedgerows. Designated green corridors are essential to connect green areas.”

Mike Ginger, from the Taunton Area Cycling Campaign, said the planned junction between the new development and the A38 was “completely out of scale”, and went against the council’s garden town aim of promoting sustainable transport.

Enabling works on the site of the new roundabout, including the clearing of existing trees and vegetation, began before Christmas.

Mr Ginger said: “Nothing has been produced to show how the development will integrate with the wider cycling network in Taunton.

“The infrastructure is based on out-of-date design thinking, based upon a car-first approach to planning.”

Councillor John Hunt (whose Comeytrowe and Bishop’s Hull ward includes part of the site) warned the site would make existing congestion worse unless radical action was taken to provide better transport.

He said: “The A38 leading from this development into Taunton is already congested, as is the Silk Mills Road joining the A38 in the south and the A358 to the north.

“Increased bus frequency (including connecting services) and price reductions need to be addressed, to incentivise people to get out of their cars.

“You cannot simply add 2,000 new homes here and 1,600 at Staplegrove, without first adding the necessary off-site infrastructure to cope with the huge increase in traffic.”

Despite these objections, the committee ultimately voted to approve the plans by a margin of eight votes to two, with one abstention.

A decision on a related application by Taylor Wimpey, for the first 70 homes to be built on the new estate, is expected later in the year.