TAUNTON Deane planners have agreed to reduce the amount of affordable housing from 25 per cent to 17.5 per cent at the Comeytrowe development.

Construction of 2,000 new homes to the south west of Taunton could begin in around year’s time - but developers will now be providing 150 fewer 'affordable' homes. 

Taunton Deane Borough Council’s planning committee reluctantly defied local residents at its meeting on Wednesday evening (April 25) by voting to approved revised plans for 2,000 homes, employment space, a new primary school and a park and ride facility.

The homes will be built by a consortium of four developers – Bovis Homes, the MacTaggart and Mickel Group, Summerfield Developments and Taylor Wimpey – on agricultural land between the A38 Wellington Road through Rumwell, and Honiton Road through Trull.

The developers had originally promised that 500 of the new homes would be affordable, but put forward amended proposals for 350 homes after claiming that it was not viable for them to deliver the original amount.

Local residents packed into the meeting, held at West Monkton Church of England Primary School, to voice their concerns about the loss of affordable housing and the impact it would have on their communities.

Planning manager John Burton told those assembled that “the current offer is a good one”, explaining that the consortium had originally lobbied for the amount of affordable housing to be ten or 15 per cent (equivalent to 200 or 300 homes).

Anthony Kent, of Trull Parish Council, said that the developers should foot the bill for any rise in construction costs, which he claimed could rise further in light of the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit.

He said: “You will be well aware of the chronic shortage of affordable housing in Taunton.

“Wages are below the national average. We are crucially aware of the need for them [affordable homes], and are totally opposed to any change to the original commitment.

“The consortium finds it cannot make the profit it wants from this development, and is seeking to recover it at the expense of those who need the most help to get on the housing market. We think that this is fundamentally and morally wrong.”

Other members of the public took a similarly strong tone, with Alan Paul accusing the developers of “land-banking” by sitting on land until its value increased, instead of delivering much-needed houses.

Carolyn Warburton likened the level of consultation on the changes to “a filing cabinet in a cellar”, adding that “the people of Taunton should not be subsidising the shareholders of the developers.”

Numerous councillors also expressed their disappointment at the situation, pointing to the need for low cost housing across the district.

Councillor Marcia Hill said: “Here are we, sitting here, with social housing that’s desperately needed, cutting the numbers. It goes right against the grain.

“I am becoming so frustrated that we are having to do this every flipping time we get a large development.” 

Councillor Jefferson Horsley said that residents had been let down by the planning system, quipping: “We may as well lie down and let them [the developers] trample all over us.”

Councillor Simon Coles said that the district’s relatively low target for affordable housing – as a percentage of any major development – made it an attractive area for big developers.

He claimed that the average level demanded across Somerset, by all five district or borough councils, was 35 per cent of homes in any major development – against Taunton Deane’s own level of 25 per cent.

He said: “It’s taken them two years to work out that they didn’t get their sums right, and now they’re asking us to help them out. Yet again, the poorest and weakest in our society are expected to pay for the profits of developers.”

Councillor Roger Habgood sought to assure the committee that the viability process had been extensive and robust, and warned that refusing the plans could lead to an appeal.

He said: “Surely what will happen is an appeal will go in and the ten to 15 per cent  viability will get passed by an inspector. Is that comfortable? No – but it’s a fact.

“It’s a nonsense to say that the developers just want to wait – that’s not what they’re here for. They actually wanted to start earlier.”

Tim Burton, the council’s assistant director for planning and the environment, argued that there would be no solid legal grounds on which the council could win an appeal.

He said: “You shouldn’t go down that route unless there is a reasonable expectation that you will win.”

After nearly three hours, the meeting concluded after the committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of seven to four, with one abstention.

Speaking after the meeting, John Aylwin – strategic projects developer at Taylor Wimpey – refused to completely guarantee that there would be any further reduction in the number of affordable homes going forward.

He said: “To be totally honest I can’t give a guarantee, but it’s very, very unlikely.

“We’ve now got have a scheme that’s viable, we’ve got a scheme that’s deliverable, and we’re very keen to get on site and still building houses that are needed very much.”

Mr Aylwin added that it would about a year to bring forward a reserved matters application – covering the design and layout of the houses – and then start construction.