Residents in call to arms over plans for 95 homes
RESIDENTS of the West village that is home to high-end fashion firm Mulberry say a new housing development could “harm the very fabric” of where they live.
Gladman Developments has applied for outline planning permission to build up to 95 new homes in the Somerset village of Chilcompton.
The Congleton-based developer has argued the new homes would ease the housing crisis in the local area and would provide a sustainable extension to the village.
Chilcompton has been home to luxury leather goods firm Mulberry since 1973, when Roger Saul opened a factory in the village.
But the plans have attracted the ire of Chilcompton Against Rural Overdevelopment (CARO), whose members argue it will put a huge strain on local services and make the village grow too quickly.
The new homes would be built on grazing land surrounded by Stockhill Road, Hoecraft Gardens and the B3356 Naish’s Cross/Road Road.
Access would be from a new junction onto Naish’s Cross, with a children’s play area being provided in the middle of the site and new woodland being planted at the south-eastern corner.
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A spokesman said: “Mendip District Council is required to provide enough housing land to meet its full future housing needs. It is currently failing to do so.
“The aim is to design a high-quality development with a strong sense of place that responds well to its existing context, will stand the test of time and meet the needs of current and future generations.”
CARO’s members claim that this development would increase the village’s size by ten per cent at a time when the local school is “over-subscribed” and the doctor’s surgery is “full”.
They also argue the new homes will increase congestion on the village’s narrow roads and could increase the risk of localised flooding.
Spokesman Rich Morgan said: “This is a colossal plan that would really harm the very fabric of Chilcompton.
“We want people to pick up their reddest pens and shout with their loudest voices.”
Mendip District Council is expected to make a decision on the plans later in the year.