The campus is set for a major redevelopment

Fresh proposals have been submitted to transform the former Yeo Valley campus on the fringes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset. Yeo Valley Farm and Holt Farms lodged an application in August 2018 seeking outline permission to build up to 100 new homes on their former storage facility off the A371 Axbridge Road in Cheddar, alongside a 60-bed care home, 12 extra care units, business premises and a nursery.

Sedgemoor District Council’s development committee voted in favour of the proposals in November 2020, though the legal agreements relating to the site weren’t finalised until late May 2023.

Homes England later bought the site and presented revised proposals for the development – plans which received approval in November 2024 from Somerset Council (which succeeded the district council in April 2023).

Woodstock Homes (Construction), which is collaborating with Homes England, has now lodged additional revisions to the residential component of the site, while LNT Care Developments has submitted new proposals for the care home.

The council is expected to deliver a decision on both sets of proposals before Christmas.

The site is located on the northern side of Axbridge Road next to the Cheddar Woods Resort and Spa, on the edge of the Mendip Hills national landscape (previously designated an area of outstanding natural beauty, or AONB).

Under the updated plans, 56 homes will be built across the site, three of which will be designated as ‘live/work units’ — properties incorporating office space to facilitate remote working or small business operations.

The development will offer a range of property types, from one-bedroom flats through to four-bedroom houses. However, owing to the limited viability of the brownfield site, just eight of the properties will be classed as affordable housing.

The residential units will be concentrated at the southern end of the site, with 161 parking spaces provided throughout — including 11 dedicated visitor spaces.

The northern portion of the site will be largely given over to green landscaping and tree planting, creating an enhanced buffer zone for both the neighbouring campsite and the protected landscape beyond.

A new 250 sq m nursery will be positioned close to the site entrance, alongside a new 600 sq m commercial building suitable for uses such as offices or light industrial units.

An active travel route will be established at the south-eastern corner of the site, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to reach Cheddar either via the A371 or by heading west to join the Strawberry Line at the Axbridge entrance.

A spokesperson for LDA Design (representing the applicants), said: “The site will make a significant, and much-needed, contribution to Somerset’s housing land supply, as well as providing employment opportunities.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with Somerset Council to secure consent and progress toward the delivery of the housing, employment and nursery uses.”

The new care home will be delivered by LNT Care Developments (in conjunction with 376 Estates (Cheddar) and Home England), which recently completed the Gillingham Grange facility in Chard and the Sherford Manor care home within the Killams Park estate in Taunton.

The facility will be built at the south-western corner of the site, featuring 66 bedrooms spread across three floors, generating up to 60 jobs for local residents.

A spokesperson for LNT said: “The site lies within a sustainable location in close proximity to facilities, the local population and existing public transport services.

“There is an identified need for development of specialist accommodation, including residential care homes.

“The development of the site will contribute towards a mix of uses in the local area, and specifically on the redevelopment of the former Yeo Valley site, providing significant employment, social and economic benefits, which will have a positive and lasting impact on community cohesion and diversity.”

Somerset Council is expected to reach a verdict on both sets of proposals within the next six months. Given the scope and importance of the plans, both decisions are expected to be made publicly by the planning committee north (which oversees major applications within the former Sedgemoor area), rather than through the delegated authority of its planning officers.

LNT Care Developments has suggested that building work on the care home could start “within 16 months” of planning permission being granted.