Building new homes near Glastonbury's community hospital could be "a step too far" for the town, a local councillor has warned.

Elan Homes has been delivering the Avalon development of 60 homes on Old Wells Road in Glastonbury, just over the road from West Mendip Community Hospital.

T. & A. Land Associates Ltd., which is based on the Marston Trading Estate in Frome, applied in June to build a further 24 homes at the bottom of Cullen Farm Road, one of the main estate roads within the Avalon site.

Somerset Council's planning committee east (which handles major applications within the former Mendip area) was expected to make a decision on the plans when it convened in Shepton Mallet on Tuesday afternoon (November 5).

But councillors ultimately voted to delay a decision, asking for more information on how the new homes could impact on views of Glastonbury Tor.

The site was not included within the Mendip Local Plan Part II, which was approved by Mendip District Council in December 2021 and is in the process of being revised following a successful judicial review.

The plans were initially put forward during a 'call for sites' by Glastonbury Town Council as part of the early stage of developing a Neighbourhood Plan for the town.

The developer originally intended that up to 34 homes would be delivered on the land, which lies at the south-east corner of the Avalon estate; however, this was revised down to 24 following initial discussions with Somerset Council's planning department.

Of the 24 homes planned for the site, seven will be affordable – just under the 30 per cent level mandated for all new developments of ten homes or more in the former Mendip area.

Local resident Dave Lockey spoke against the application at the meeting on Tuesday (November 5), telling the committee that the plans were "ill-conceived".

He added: "This is a development on greenfield land, in open countryside, outside the development limits of Glastonbury and plainly in direct conflict with the adopted Local Plan.

"The application singularly fails to present any compelling material reason why the policies in the Local Plan should be flagrantly disregarded.

"The adjacent Elan Homes estate is already an encroachment into the open countryside – and these plans are not a good reason to repeat this.

"This is one of the worst proposed estate road designs I have seen in my years as an ex-local government engineer and surveyor.

"It induces an unnecessary doubling in travel distance by taking vehicles up through the existing estate road to the top of the hill, only to take them back down again – just like the Grand Old Duke of York."

Suzanna Michelle added: "The development would be a further creep outside the envelope of the town. We'd be using a significant area for wildlife and birds.

"The site infringes onto much-needed farmland and green space, and would be viewable from the Tor, which is not a good thing at all.

"It would also present further flooding issues in Brindham Lane and Wick Lane, which struggle to cope with the increased rainfall we have at the moment."

Glastonbury is expected to deliver a significant amount of new housing over the next decade, with several brownfield sites being identified within the Mendip Local Plan Part II alongside the Lowerside Lane site, where 90 homes were approved on appeal in May 2023.

Councillor Dawn Denton (Frome North) said: "I'm very aware that on this committee we turned down a lighting request from Millfield School in the past because of concerns about the Tor.

"I am concerned that this is creeping closer and closer to a unique heritage site.

"I understand the need for housing, but what is the point of a neighbourhood plan if we say it's acceptable to ignore it?"

Councillor Helen Kay (Frome East) said: "This feels to me that it's a long way out of the town.

"No-one is going to work from here – it's 26 minutes to the secondary school, 35 minutes to the infants school, 50 minutes to the nearest supermarket and 35 minutes to the town centre. This is not a sustainable development."

Councillor Ros Wyke (Mendip West) added: "This is getting increasingly near to the Tor.

"Are we going to insist on street lighting on this estate, and are we going to do anything to actually reduce the glow? The glow from Street and Glastonbury is increasingly noticeable – it is significantly impacting the night sky.

"We are not anti-housing, but this is a step too far."

After around two hours' debate, the committee voted to defer a decision for a further month by eight votes to two, with two abstentions.

The committee will hold its final meeting of the calendar year in Shepton Mallet on December 3.