“WE may have lost a battle but we definitely haven’t lost the war.”

That was the defiant message this week from campaigners against a massive housing development on the south side of Wellington.

They were speaking after members of Taunton Deane Council’s planning committee granted outline permission for the 650-home scheme proposed by developers CG Fry on the Jurston Farm site.

The vote came at the end of a two-hour debate at the council’s Deane House headquarters last Thursday.

It included impassioned pleas from members of the Save Wellington action group, formed last year after the plans were announced.

They claimed the scheme should be rejected for a variety of reasons – including highways, education, health and emergency services, flooding and the environment and even the site’s potential archaeological importance.

A Save Wellington spokesman said: “It’s hugely frustrating that this site was included in the Deane’s Core Strategy nearly three years ago – and that seems to make people think its development is a foregone conclusion.

“The debate proved that we still have plenty to fight for – and that is exactly what we will do.

“A number of the councillors sought assurances over infrastructure and highways but the biggest sticking point seems to be the school and the allotments, or lack of them.

“No-one can provide assurance that the money can be found to build the school and, without the allotments, the council is going against its own laid-down policy.”

The spokesman added: “We have always said we will fight this unwanted scheme to the bitter end – and absolutely nothing has changed.”