Trull Cricket Club lies on the southern side of Dipford Road just outside the main village, a stone’s throw from the Orchard Grove housing development being constructed on the western edge of Taunton.
Trull LVA LLP has published initial proposals for a new housing development which, combined with the latter stages of Orchard Grove, would see the club enclosed by housing on three sides.
Local residents are being asked for their views on the proposals before a formal planning application is submitted early in the new year.
The initial plans involve the creation of a new access onto Dipford Road to the west of the cricket club, with the bulk of the new homes being concentrated in the central and eastern part of the site.
The western edge of the new development will provide a green buffer between the homes and the neighbouring countryside, and could include a children’s play area.
Of the 130 homes planned for the site, up to 33 are expected to be affordable, in line with Somerset Council’s existing planning requirements for the former Taunton Deane area.
Existing public rights of way running through the site will be upgraded, along with a link from the easternmost homes planned within Orchard Grove, not far from the new roundabout planned on Honiton Road.
A spokesman for Black Box Planning said: “The delivery of the later phases of the Comeytrowe development [Orchard Grove] will change the nature of Dipford Road, as the new Comeytrowe roundabout on Honiton Road will connect Trull to the west and towards the A38.
“This site is strategically well placed at the southern edge of Comeytrowe to provide an opportunity to integrate into and enhance the strategic master-planning and place-making objectives of the wider area.
“The site benefits from being in a sustainable location, providing access via sustainable modes of transport to services and facilities of both the future Comeytrowe local centre and those existing already within the village of Trull.
“The development parcels are orientated to overlook the public open spaces, provide a positive frontage along Dipford Road and interface with the neighbouring Trull Cricket Club.
“There is potential for lower density and rural style of buildings to concentrate towards the west of the site, to reflect the transition into the countryside.”
The development is expected to contribute more than £812,000 towards local infrastructure projects, on top of nearly £367,000 for improvements to nearby schools and £117,000 for public open space and leisure facilities.
In addition to the Orchard Grove development, several other sites within the Trull area are currently being earmarked for future housing to help meet the future needs of the greater Taunton area.
BSL Strategic Ltd. put forward plans in early-October to deliver 125 homes on Comeytrowe Road, on agricultural land to the south of the Queen’s College campus.
A decision is still pending on plans for 145 homes and a community hub to the west of Honiton Road, which were submitted by Broadlands Twenty Twelve back in early-2015.
The council is expected to give a ruling shortly on revised plans for a new campsite on Sweethay (a few hundred yards from the Dipford road site), after a decision was postponed in mid-October due to phosphate mitigation issues.
To give your views on the Dipford Road proposals, visit www.blackboxplanning.co.uk/dipford_road by November 20.
