New jobs and a crucial ‘park and bus’ facility set for major development in Somerset's county town
The development will eventually deliver 2,000 new homes between the A38 Wellington Road and Honiton Road on the western edge of Taunton
New jobs and a crucial ‘park and bus’ facility will be delivered under a crucial new phase of a major development in Somerset’s county town.
Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Homes are currently constructing the Orchard Grove development (a.k.a. the Comeytrowe urban extension), which will eventually deliver 2,000 new homes between the A38 Wellington Road and Honiton Road on the western edge of Taunton.
Numerous parcels of land within the site have already been built out, with Somerset County Council reporting that 200 homes had been completed, of which all but 20 had been sold off.
The developers have now put forward three set of new plans for the next phase, comprising 71 homes, the “employment zone” and the park-and-bus facility which will connect the new homes to the town centre.
Plans For 51 Homes Within The Orchard Grove Development In Taunton
The bulk of the employment facilities within the site (outside of the shops within the planned ‘local centre’) will be concentrated at the western edge of the development, near the newly-constructed roundabout on the A38.
The developers have not indicated how many new jobs the “employment zone” is expected to create, with a range of light industrial and small business units being made available.
This part of the complex will be separated from the proposed care home, which – if approved by Somerset West and Taunton Council – will create more than 100 local jobs.
A spokesman for Boyer (representing the developers) said: “The proposed employment area is expected to include a variety of employment units in addition to a care home, over a total site area of 4.76 hectares.
“The proposals include shared service areas fronting clusters of employment units, with staff parking adjacent.
“The care home will be served by its own access from the employment area access road and is subject to a separate application.”
The park and bus site, with an unspecified number of car parking spaces, is expected to be served by commercial operators rather than becoming a third park and ride site, which are run on a council contract.
The site falls within the recently-instituted Taunton fare zone, meaning anyone can catch a bus from there to the town centre for just £1 for a single journey, or £2 for a return.
Elsewhere within the Orchard Grove site, the developers have put forward detailed proposals to deliver 71 new homes across two separate parcels of land.
A total of 51 homes will be built at the north-eastern corner of the site, near an adjoining parcel of 70 homes – the latter of which will come before the district council’s planning committee for approval on Thursday (December 8).
These 51 homes will back onto Lipe Hill Lane but will not have vehicular access onto it, with the homes being connected to the central spine road via smaller estate roads.
Pedestrian and cycling access onto Comeytrowe Lane will be provided via green space to the south, near the location of the pumping station which was approved at a seven-hour meeting back in February 2021.
A further 20 homes will be delivered at the western end of this parcel, with further access points being provided into what has been christened Hortsridge Park, one of the major public green spaces within the development.
Both parcels will be within walking distance of the new Orchard Grove Primary School, which was approved by county councillors on Thursday afternoon (December 1).
While the school is expected to be constructed by September 2023, pupils will be ferried to and from Wellington until early-2024 after it emerged the spine road will not have been completed in time for the school to open as planned.
All three applications are expected to come before the district council’s planning committee for a decision before April 1, 2023.
After this date, all decisions on these and future elements of the Orchard Grove development will be made by the new unitary Somerset Council.