The development in Woolavington has been given the green light from Somerset Council

Up to 150 new homes will be built within close proximity to Somerset’s new £4bn ‘gigafactory’ following the approval of outline plans by local councillors. Work is progressing rapidly on battery maker Agratas’ new facility at the Gravity enterprise zone between Puriton and Woolavington, which will create up to 4,000 new jobs once fully operational.

Bloor Homes South West conducted a consultation in May regarding its proposals to deliver 150 new homes on Cossington Lane at the eastern edge of Woolavington, less than two miles from the gigafactory site. Somerset Council’s planning committee north has now granted approval for these proposals, despite local concerns about traffic levels and pressure on local services.

The new homes will be accessed from Cossington Lane, with new pavements established along the southern edge towards the Polden Hills Veterinary Centre and the Lock’s Way active travel route to Bawdrip, which forms part of National Cycle Network (NCN route 3).

A separate access for pedestrians and cyclists will be established onto the B3141 Woolavington Hill, north of the existing homes on Southfield Close, enabling residents to access local amenities such as The Co-operative Food store and the local pharmacy.

Substantial public open space will be created at the site’s eastern boundary, incorporating new play facilities, to establish a buffer with the countryside and keep Woolavington distinct from the adjacent village of Cossington.

Of the 150 properties earmarked for the site, 45 will be affordable, satisfying the council’s requirement of 30 per cent affordable housing for any new development of 10 homes or more within the former Sedgemoor area.

Beyond the new properties, Bloor Homes will supply more than £350,000 towards enhancements to public transport and the local cycling infrastructure (in addition to new connections being delivered by Agratas).

Just over £100,000 will also be allocated to the Polden Medical Centre, towards expanding either its Woolavington surgery (on Woolavington Road, near the primary school) or its Edington surgery (which already secured a share of £1.14m from central government to create additional space).

Local resident Joe Stradling voiced opposition to the proposals when the council’s planning committee north met in Bridgwater on 11 March.

He said: “This is the wrong place for this development – no-one in Cossington or Woolavington supports this. There is no positive to be had here.

“Because of the Agratas battery plant, there is a rush to get houses built in this area. You should not approve this just because it’s the first application that’s come along. The number of new homes required at Woolavington is about 70 – this greatly exceeds that.

‘It’s unacceptable’

“Woolavington has got no pub, the school is over-subscribed, and the doctors’ surgery is struggling to cope. Traffic is already a problem in the area, and it’s going to get worse – we’re probably talking 300 cars from this. It’s unacceptable.”

Previously, Gladman Developments attempted to obtain planning permission for 125 homes on the same site, but this was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate in June 2021.

Alan Sharp, chairman of Woolavington Parish Council, said: “The junction of the A39 and the B3141 is currently over capacity.

“No evidence has been presented to show how a ‘modal shift’ from cars to cycling or public transport can be achieved, to provide any alleviation of the vehicular impact on this junction.

“The implication is that the only alleviation would be no additional car movements from this development – which is extremely naive, as we are a rural community and need cars to get to places.”

Wainhomes Severn Valley had pledged to replace this junction with a new roundabout as part of a development of 175 homes west of Woolavington Hill; however, this permission expired in March 2025.

Councillor Matt Martin, who represents the neighbouring King Alfred division, said: “I must pin my colours to the mast: I don’t generally make adverse comments on large-scale developments because I’m very cognisant of the five-year housing land supply situation, and I’m a realist – I understand how things work in the commercial world.

“However, in this instance I must say that I do think this is in the wrong place. I go through the A39 junction very frequently and it is always a sticking point.

“Cars want to get out and down to Bridgwater and onto the M5 quickly. We’re going to have construction traffic using that junction – it’s going to cause more problems.”

Councillor Alistair Hendry (Conservative, Highbridge and Burnham South) offered a different perspective, arguing: “The average number of cars for a three-bedroom house is not as much as people think – it’s about 1.4.

“Not everybody drives to work – some do, some don’t, some work from home. Some people do the school run, some don’t – so not all these cars are going to approach a given junction at any one time.

“You cannot stop construction site traffic coming and going – the work has to be done.

“Our highways team are very technical, very educated and know exactly what they are doing – they say it’s safe and acceptable, and that’s good enough for me.”

Councillor Alan Bradford (Conservative, North Petherton) expressed his preference for a site visit prior to the meeting, suggesting the committee was “boxing blind” without one.

He continued: “I’m 79, I’ve been on the A39 hundreds of times – I know the area very well.

“Traffic is always going to a problem in every development – but what are we going to do – go back to horse and cart?

“There’s no easy solution to the traffic problem – unless everybody starts working from home and if that happens they’ll want more parking spaces.”

Following nearly two hours of debate, the committee voted to approve the proposals by five votes to three, with one abstention.

A reserved matters application, offering further detail on the design and layout of the proposed dwellings, is anticipated to be submitted before the year’s end.

The council will shortly deliver a decision on separate proposals for 170 homes south of Vicarage Road (neighbouring the Bloor Homes site, brought forward by South West Strategic Developments) and 85 homes south of Woolavington Road (lodged by Gladman Developments).

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