Somerset business park to expand with new workshops and storage

The Lang Partnership has put forward proposals to expand Bowdens Farm Business Park northward

A rural Somerset business park is looking to expand with new workshops and storage facilities under fresh proposals.

Bowdens Farm Business Park is located on the B3168 Hambridge Road just outside the small village of Hambridge, situated between Langport and Ilminster.

The business park hosts a number of thriving small enterprises, including the Brown and Forrest Smokery, the Teapot Creative marketing agency, Rifleman Firearms and the DCC Train Automation model train outlet.

The Lang Partnership, which owns and operates the site, has submitted plans to extend the site northwards with additional units — with Somerset Council anticipated to reach a decision on the proposals before Christmas.

The expansion will take place on arable land to the north of Bowdens Farm, adjacent to an existing woodland area and accessed via the current entrance road off Hambridge Road.

The plans involve constructing a new building to accommodate six workshops for light industrial purposes, delivering a total of 363 sq m of employment space.

Eight large storage containers (each measuring 29.7 sq m) and 52 smaller storage containers (each measuring 14.7 sq m) will also be installed, alongside 31 additional car parking spaces, two motorcycle bays, two cycle spaces, two disabled bays and one electric vehicle charging point.

A spokesperson for Clive Miller Architects (representing the applicant) said: “The proposed development provides employment opportunities that are appropriate to the scale of the settlement and will meet the local demand for such opportunities.

“It is immediately adjoining the existing business centre, is of a size which will enable the organic development of the facility over the coming years, and will help to compliment and sustain the existing business.

“It will also make a positive contribution to the farm enterprise as a whole during a period of likely serious challenge for the agricultural sector and the arable farming business.”

Both Curry Rivel Parish Council and Hambridge and Westport Parish Council have thrown their weight behind the proposals, noting that the development would bring new employment opportunities to the local area.

Hambridge and Westport parish clerk Louise Brooks said: “We fully support the proposed extension to Bowdens Farm Business Park.

“We feel that increasing the level of business activity on the site is positive for the local area, helping to support local employment, the rural economy and local trade.”

Somerset Council is expected to reach a decision on the proposals within the next three months, though it remains unclear whether this will be determined in a public hearing by its planning committee south, which oversees major applications within the former South Somerset area, or through the delegated authority of its planning officers.