Work begins on 105 new homes near Bridgwater secondary school
£36.5m Durleigh View scheme will deliver 105 energy-efficient homes, including 32 affordable properties, as final phase of long-running Bridgwater development gets under way
Construction work has officially begun on 105 new homes within walking distance of a Bridgwater secondary school.
Kier Living Ltd. secured outline planning permission from Sedgemoor District Council in April 2014 to build up to 186 homes on Haygrove Road, which was subsequently christened ‘Durleigh Gardens’.
Notoro New Homes delivered 81 homes within the first phase (in the eastern half of the site) and secured permission in March 2020 to deliver the remaining homes after David Wilson Homes pulled out of the site.
The developer subsequently joined forces with Lovell Homes, with Somerset Council (which replaced the district council in April 2023) granting revised permission for the second and final phase of the development in May 2025.
The Bristol-based developer has now broken the ground on this second phase (dubbed ‘Durleigh View’), investing £36.5m to deliver 105 new homes within a short walk of Haygrove School (which will be replaced by a new school further to the west by September 2028).
Of the 105 homes (which will range from one-bedroom flats to five-bedroom houses), 32 will be affordable in line with the outline permission – the equivalent of 30 per cent.
Each of the new homes will be equipped with air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points, with an otter holt being constructed to support local wildlife.
The new homes will be accessed from Haygrove Road (near the existing junction with Stag Valley Road), with phase two linking up with Fallow View Road at the southern edge to provide a complete circular route around the new homes.
Up to 150 metres of new footpath will be created near the site, linking up with the phase one homes and St Matthew’s Field (along the Durleigh Brook) and providing connections to the public rights of way leading across the Meads eco-park towards a planned development of 220 homes on Rhode Lane.
Anthony Vagges, regional managing director at Lovell, said: “We are incredibly proud to have broken ground on Durleigh View and to be beginning our exciting venture into Bridgwater.
“Durleigh View will be an attractive, high-specification development, with homes of mixed tenures to cater to Somerset’s housing needs and built in line with today’s energy-efficient standards.
“This development forms an important part of our growth plans at Lovell as we expand our area of operations within the county.
“We are looking forward to working closely with our partners Notaro to deliver these new homes to the highest standard, and to supporting the existing Bridgwater community.”
Lovell Homes is currently constructing The Oaks development of 80 homes on Dene Road in Cotford St. Luke, and is in the early stages of delivering a further 350 homes at the Station Fields site on the A39 Priest Street in Williton.
Joe Notaro, managing director of S. Notaro Ltd., said: “This is a great moment of pride for us at Notaro, as we celebrate work commencing on Durleigh View.
“The wider development will consist of 186 new homes in total, with the existing Durleigh Gardens comprising of 81 homes, and we are very keen to work with Lovell to deliver this second phase to the same high quality.
“The homes here have been carefully designed with modern lifestyles in mind, positioned in one of the village’s most desirable locations, and we are eager to watch this new community grow.”
The two show-homes (one with three bedrooms, one with five bedrooms) are expected to be open by the summer, with all homes expected to be delivered by 2029.
Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adults services, housing and homelessness, said: “Seeing the second phase finally kick off on site is a real win for us at Somerset Council.
“It’s taken a while to get here, but our affordable housing team, along with Notaro and Lovell, have put in an incredible amount of work to make sure these much-needed homes could move forward.
“Today is an important milestone and I’m really looking forward to watching the development take shape.”