Plans for 120 new homes in a Somerset village have been struck down for fears they could turn the community into a “dormitory town” for Yeovil commuters.

Barratt Homes was refused permission by South Somerset District Council in July to build the homes on Coat Road in Martock, with locals arguing it would put unnecessary extra pressure on local roads and services.

The developer has submitted two sets of fresh plans for the site as it prepares to appeal the council’s original decision – an appeal which the council confirmed it does not intend to defend.

These new plans were defeated at a meeting in Yeovil on Wednesday (November 27) – but they could still be approved before Christmas.

The council’s area north committee met to discuss two new plans for the site – one solely concerning the access arrangements, and the other providing detailed plans with more car parking than the previous version.

But the changes did nothing to curry favour with either residents or councillors, who argued the development would damage both the village and the natural environment.

Hugh Thompson from Ash Parish Council said the development would put extra pressure on local roads, with people cutting through their neighbouring village to avoid Cartgate and the western corridor into Yeovil.

He said: “The facilities people use in the development will most likely be in Yeovil or on the A303.

“Eighty per cent of the children in our school do not come from Ash – they come by car.

“The road through Ash is not an A-road or a B-road – it is an overground country lane.”

Andrew Clegg said the people of Martock had been “steamrollered” by the developers, whom he accused of “land-banking” to increase their profits.

John Hill described Coat Road as “a dodgem track” for cars, adding: “This is not a sustainable site for Martock. A sustainable development on this site would be 10, 20 or 30 houses.”

Councillor Neil Bloomfield – who represents Martock – said the village was already close to delivering the target number of homes it should provide up to 2028, when the current Local Plan ends.

He said: “We do not need 120 houses. There are not 120 families out there looking for homes – we are making Martock into a dormitory town.

“This district is the least forested district in all of Europe. We need to plant more trees, but all we seem to do is plant houses.”

The committee voted to refuse both sets of plans, by margins of seven to four and six to four respectively (one councillor, Tiffany Osborne, left after the first application had been discussed).

The council’s regulation committee will meet to make the final decision on the plans in Yeovil on December 17 at 10am.