Plans to build six affordable homes on a town centre car park have been dramatically thrown out – after councillors defied planning officers and sided with locals over fears of losing a valued community asset.

Housing provider Aster Group had applied to knock down a row of garages on the Norbins Road car park and replace them with six two-bed homes – all classed as affordable. But at a meeting of Somerset Council's East Planning Committee, councillors voted 5–3 to reject the plan, with three abstentions.

Planning officers had recommended approval.

Councillors they cited the loss of amenity and said the scheme clashed with policies DP1 and DP7 of the Mendip Local Plan – both of which protect spaces important to community wellbeing.

The homes would have been two-storey terraces with a simple, pitched-roof design intended to echo Glastonbury's character. Plans also included green landscaping, 14 parking spaces, secure cycle storage, and a retained stone barn at the rear of the site.

But concerns were raised about narrow access, school noise, and the impact on neighbouring homes – along with the fact that the land runs over a foul sewer and lies within the Somerset Levels and Moors RAMSAR catchment, which brings with it strict environmental protections around phosphate runoff.

Despite this, the council's own pre-application advice had welcomed the plan back in 2021 – saying it was in line with Glastonbury's town strategy, local housing policy, and would help meet demand for affordable homes.

That didn't sway the committee.

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Locals argued the land was more than just garages – it had long served as a kind of informal community space, and losing it would chip away at the character of the area. Councillors agreed, and the motion to refuse was passed.

The application, reference 2021/2640/FUL, may return in a revised form, but for now, the site will remain as it is.