230 Chard homes approved for second time despite A30 safety fears
Council backs revised scheme after hours of debate, with footpath condition imposed before residents move in.
Plans for 230 homes in Chard have been approved for a second time – despite concerns about pedestrian safety near the A30.
Gladman Developments secured outline permission in January 2025 to build 230 homes north of the A30 Crewkerne Road, which could eventually deliver a section of the long-awaited Eastern Relief Road (ERR).
Revised plans came before Somerset Council’s planning committee south in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (January 20), with the Congleton-based developer put forward alternative proposals for pedestrian access to and from the new homes.
The committee (which handles major applications within the former South Somerset area) gave these plans its unanimous support – with the proviso that a safe pedestrian link along the A30 must be provided before any new homes are occupied.
The site lies at the eastern entrance to Chard, between the main road and the Oaklands estate (near the Chard Reservoir visitors’ car park).
Access to the new homes will be from a new junction on Crewkerne Road, which will run up to the boundary with Avishayes Road – with the potential for it to link up with Broad Road at a later date.
Of the 230 new homes, 81 will be affordable – meeting the council’s target of 35 per cent affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more within the former South Somerset area.
The original plans were approved by councillors on the basis that Gladman would provide a pedestrian link west of the access point along Crewkerne Road, linking up with existing footpaths into the town centre.
However, following extensive discussions with the council’s planning and highways officers, the developer ruled that this was “not technically feasible” without narrowing the A30 to the point where traffic could only move in one direction at a time.
As an alternative, the developer proposed providing a pedestrian link directly onto Oaklands Avenue from the north-western corner of the site, allowing residents to safely walk to Avishayes Community Primary School and the local One Stop outlet.
Stephen Bainbridge from Greenslade Taylor Hunt warned that development to the south of the A30 (including further sections of the ERR) would be jeopardised if Gladman got out of providing the footpath along the main road.
He told the committee: “My clients are promoters of allocated land south of this site, who support this application only if the footpath link with the A30 is secured.
“They have carried out considerable due diligence over many years and know that a footpath connection can be provided.
“If it is not secured now, connectivity on foot will be severed thereafter to the south and east, to the detriment of their site, the wider Local Plan site allocation and beyond.”
According to the South Somerset Local Plan, the ERR was originally intended to run from the A358 Tatworth Road to the A358 Furnham Road, crossing over the B3162 Forton Road and the A30 Crewkerne Road – with each section being delivered as part of new housing developments.
A report was commissioned by South Somerset District Council and produced by consultancy firm Three Dragons – but to date this report has not been published or come before any committee for discussion.
Local resident Daryl Sturrock urged the council to publish a detailed intended route for the ERR, arguing that the current proposals would increase traffic through residential areas.
He said: “This will pull significant traffic, including lorries and vans, through residential areas and right next to the reservoir.
“While the idea of re-routing traffic from central Chard is commendable, this is not appropriate.
“Developments and land allocations have been approved over the last few years while blocking any meaningful public debate on this issue, with councillors and planners simply pushing it down the road.”
Councillor Jenny Kenton (whose Chard North division includes the site) said: “If you’re going to have the ERR join in with this estate, you will join a lot of small estate roads.
“The Heron Close estate was built on the site where the ERR would have gone. I can’t see the rest of the road being built, to be honest.”
Councillor Peter Seib (Brympton) said the issues with this site were “a sequencing issue”, due to other developments within the Chard Eastern Development Area (CEDA) coming forward in a different order than had been anticipated.
He said: “We’ve got a strip of land which is in private ownership which is required to provide a southern connection that would service the site.
“It was my understanding that this land is available on the market, it just hasn’t been bought.
“Effectively, what we’ve got is an island of development, with one path to service a very substantial area of housing.”
Councillor Steve Ashton (Crewkerne) said: “People will not use this circuitous route so much, because you’d have to go around the houses to get to Tesco.
“We’ve been told there is an opportunity to purchase some land to provide the direct route. The proposed route is not something people would use.”
Councillor Martin Wale (Chard North) added: “No-one here wants to lose the opportunity of 230 new homes in Chard – we accept that.
“I am not convinced that the full weight of negotiation has taken place between the developer and the landowner. We know there is a willingness to sell the land.”
After more than an hour’s debate, the committee voted unanimously to approve the plans, with the condition that Gladman must deliver the footpath along the A30 before any of the new homes were occupied.
A reserved matters application, providing more detail on the design and layout of the new homes, is expected to come forward later in the year.