More than 30 low-cost homes will be delivered in a growing Somerset village following a decision by local councillors.

Mendip District Council entered into a partnership with Aster Housing in November 2020 to deliver up to 160 low-cost homes across five different sites in Frome, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street.

Aster Housing (which is based in Devizes in Wiltshire) submitted plans in November 2021 to build 33 new homes on Portland Road in Street, next door to the village's cemetery.

Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April 2023) has now given the plans its long-awaited approval, meaning that construction could begin before Christmas.

The site lies to the west of the existing cemetery and south of the village's substation, being bordered by Cemetery Lane and the existing homes on Portland Drive.

Due to the narrowness of Cemetery Lane, the new development will be accessed from a new entrance on Portland Drive, not far from the existing T-junction.

The site is allocated within the council's Mendip Local Plan Part II – which was approved in December 2021 – to deliver a minimum of 32 new homes.

The new homes will range from one-bedroom flats to three-bedroom houses, with every property being offered as either social rent or shared ownership.

The plans came before the council's planning committee east (which handles major application within the former Mendip area) when it met in Shepton Mallet on June 3.

Councillor Liz Leyshon (whose Street division includes the site) said: "We now have more than 12,000 households on the Homefinder list for Somerset.

"By putting in a better path through Woods Batch Park, you can make a journey along Woods Batch to the underpass under the A39, and that then links to numerous schools and the High Street.

"We have a falling number of burials – the last time I checked with a local funeral director, they were doing something like 80 per cent cremations compared with 20 per cent burials.

"We will, one day, need an opportunity to create a new burial ground in central Somerset for Street, Glastonbury and the surrounding area.

"This site is adjacent to facilities which would be beneficial for families, particularly those with younger children – and Street is a great place to live and work."

A decision on the plans has been significantly delayed as a result of the ongoing phosphates crisis, with developers having to secure additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

To offset these new homes, Aster intended to purchase phosphate credits generated by the removal of cattle from Manor Farm in Prestleigh, a short distance from the Bath and West Showground.

Councillor Ros Wyke (Mendip West) welcomed the new homes but requested that more money be secured from the development to deliver walking and cycling improvements in the village.

She said: "It's disappointing that we have a travel plans with no contribution for active travel.

"The people who live on this site will use the paths and cyclepaths around Street, and the ones which will be produced in the future.

"While this was developed prior to the council's current emphasis on active travel, I hope we will see more contributions towards ongoing maintenance of cycleways throughout the village.

"I'm delighted to see this affordable housing moving forward."

After around an hour's debate, the committee voted to approve the plans by ten votes to zero, with one abstention – with an additional condition that a financial contribution towards active travel improvements would be secured.

At the same meeting, the committee voted to refuse plans for six low-cost homes on the Norbins Road car park in Glastonbury – one of the other Aster sites originally identified back in November 2020.

A decision on a neighbouring planned development of 71 homes on Moorland Road in Street (put forward by  Crossman Acquisitions Ltd.) is expected to be taken later in the year.