Revised plans have been submitted for 90 homes on land near Tor Rugby Club in Glastonbury.

Waddeton Park Ltd secured outline planning permission in May 2023 for homes opposite the rugby club on Lowerside Lane, following a successful appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The land promoter has since been working with Minster Property Group, based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, on more detailed proposals for the site.

A reserved matters application has now been lodged with Somerset Council.

A final decision is expected before Christmas.

The site sits between two existing sets of allotments, close to Tor Rugby Club and Glastonbury Football Club's ground on Godney Road.

The land was allocated in the Mendip Local Plan Part II for at least 50 homes.

The plan described it as "a logical extension to the adjoining large site" on Bligh Bond Road, where Keepmoat Regeneration and Sanctuary Housing Association delivered 133 homes.

advertisement

Under the latest proposals, both sets of allotments would be kept.

A new access would be created onto Lowerside Lane, with a spine road running along the southern boundary.

The homes would be built in three clusters at the southern end of the site.

The northern end would be used for play areas, attenuation ponds and landscaping to create a buffer towards Common Moor Drove and the surrounding countryside.

Pedestrian access would also be provided onto Common Moor Drove, near Butler Carnival Park, where Glastonbury's carnival carts are built and stored.

Jake Stentiford, from Surface Planning, representing the developers, said: "The proposed layout is heavily landscape-led, with significant areas of green infrastructure integrated throughout the site – including extensive open space and landscaping, a pocket park, woodland walk and children's play areas, with extensive provision of native trees and hedgerows.

"The strong emphasis on green infrastructure and landscaping is considered to result in a strong sense of place.

"Car parking has been accommodated in a manner that avoids domination of the street scene, with on-plot parking maintaining a pedestrian-friendly public realm which is well-integrated with public routes throughout the areas of open space."

advertisement

The site is around a mile's walk from Glastonbury town centre.

Residents would be able to use the existing underpass to reach the active travel route along the A39 Wells Road.

The new homes would also be within a 20-minute walk of Glastonbury Surgery on Feversham Lane.

Local resident Will Parfitt has objected to the plans, arguing that the land should instead be used to expand allotments.

He said: "This land is one of the rare spots adjacent to many homes where people can freely walk without fear of traffic.

"The field largely floods even without the heaviest rain and isn't really suitable for building houses on.

"The access from the bypass is very poorly placed and too narrow, especially considering the speed at which cars use this bypass.

"The land would be better deployed by increasing the allotment area to give many more people the chance of food security.

"This plan extends the town's boundaries – have all the implications of that for the future really been thought through?

"It's not like there aren't more suitable places to build. The 'life opportunity' for purchasers will be worse than that offered to those on the existing houses built along the same road nearer to town."

Somerset Council is expected to decide the revised application in the coming months.

Because of the scale of the scheme, the decision is likely to be taken in public by the council's planning committee east, rather than under delegated powers by planning officers.

Original reporting: Daniel Mumby/LDRS

More local stories

• Glastonbury Town Deal: facts, theories and unanswered questions
• GP surgeries ranked by local patients in NHS survey

Subscribe to the free Glastonbury Nub News newsletter Get the biggest Glastonbury stories straight to your inbox.