Foot-and-mouth disease burial ground to be site of 140 homes

A DEVELOPMENT of 140 homes will be built on a foot-and-mouth disease burial ground in Somerset.

Gleeson Strategic Land will build them at the southern edge of Templecombe.

Numerous local residents spoke against the plans at a public meeting last week, arguing that the land was contaminated, the roads were unsafe and the village was growing too quickly.

But despite sympathising with these concerns, councillors voted unanimously to back the plans, believing they could not win an impending appeal by the developer.

The site lies to the south of the existing homes on Bowden Road, with a new access point being created near the junction with West Street.

Numerous locals voiced their displeasure at the proposals when Somerset Council’s planning committee south met in Yeovil.

Jeffery Carter, a professional builder who lives locally, said: “I strongly object to this application; it is disingenuous and lacking credibility. Chemicals such as caustic soda and lime were used to dispose of carcasses buried on this site during the footand-mouth outbreak in the late1960s.

“A recent investigation revealed elevated levels of mercury in the surrounding area.

“The site is therefore contaminated already. There are too many risks to the environment to allow this application to proceed.”

The council admitted there was “compelling anecdotal evidence” that the site had been used as a burial site for animals slaughtered during an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 1967.

However, under UK planning law, the responsibility for clearing up such sites rests with the developer and landowner, not the council.