Background to
Proposals for
Future Development
South Somerset District Council’s Local Plan
Local Councils are required to demonstrate where new housing will be delivered to meet local need. For a number of years South Somerset District Council (SSDC) consulted on potential locations for new development in the district, with a view to producing a new Local Plan by 2022 to guide new development to 2035. However, work on this ceased with the announcement that SSDC would merge in 2023 with other authorities to form the new Somerset Unitary Council.
The newly formed Unitary Council will need to pick up the production of a new Local Plan to deliver development, and when this happens in due course, it is likely that the work done to-date by the former District Councils will be used to inform this.
However, in the meantime, SSDC are experiencing a significant shortfall in the supply of housing for the district, something that will persist beyond the creation of the unitary authority. With a number of strategic development locations unable to deliver new homes in the short term due to nutrient pollution issues, the Council has recognised the need for development to come forward where possible at all sustainable locations, including Ilchester.
SSDC’s Local Plan Review, "Preferred Options"
Following an initial ‘Issues and Options’ stage, which examined potential locations for new development at Ilchester to contribute towards providing housing to meet local needs, the Council continued working on the Local Plan Review and published a Preferred Options document for consultation at the end of the summer in 2019.
In this document, land to the west of the Fosse Way was identified as the preferred location for development of about 200 dwellings (on the land shaded brown below) and 1 hectare of employment land (on the land shaded blue below).
SSDC Preferred Options Stage: IL.1
The land indicated to deliver development would integrate with recent development at Hainbury Meadows at Ilchester’s current northern edge, which is currently nearing completion and will provide 150 homes, landscaping and open spaces/play facilities. It would also link up with existing employment at Somerton Road to provide a balance of jobs and homes within the bounds of the existing roads that represent the practical limits of Ilchester.
The Council’s draft Policy IL1: ‘Housing and Employment Provision North of Troubridge Park, Ilchester’, states in full:
“Land north of Troubridge Park is allocated for residential and employment development providing for the following:
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About 200 dwellings, including 29% affordable housing;
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1 hectare of employment land;
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Children’s formal and informal play space;
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Public open space;
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Access via the B3151”