.FIVE SITES FOR POTENTIAL NEW HOMES: 
A. Land North of Mulholland Way (former radio station) – up to approximately 270 new homes
B. Land east of The Frank Foley Parkway – up to approximately 150 new homes
C. Land East of Love Lane – up to approximately 1000 new homes
D. Land North of Stoddens Farm – up to approximately 300 new homes
E. Land Between Stoddens Lane and Brent Road – this large scale option which could deliver part of a northern relief road providing improved access to Berrow and Brean. Around 1000 new homes could be delivered if built to to its full extent
Thousands of new homes could be built at five sites in Burnham-On-Sea under plans unveiled this week for the future development of the town.
Sedgemoor District Council’s Local Plan, known as its Core Strategy, has been launched for public consultation – and it names five locations in the town where some of the 12,300 new homes needed across the district by the year 2032 could go.
The areas where the new homes could go are marked in brown areas on these maps, compiled by the district council.
The fields between Stoddens Road and Brent Road could see a “large scale” development of around 1,300 homes, running from the fields north of Stoddens Farm behind the BASC Ground up to the Berrow Triangle. A new road would also be built, running from Stoddens Road up to Brent Road, as shown by the black dotted line on the map above.
The planners have also put forward several other potential sites for development to gather feedback. They include 1,000 new homes on land to the east of Love Lane in Burnham, as shown below.
A further 420 new homes could be built on the eastern fringe of Burnham just off the Frank Foley Parkway and near Mulholland Way, shown above.
“Given the obvious geographical constraints, most potential new greenfield housing sites are located to the east of the town and will actually fall within the adjoining parish of Burnham Without, although they have to be considered as urban extensions to the town,” says a council spokesman.
The plan goes on to outline how 550 new homes could be built in Highbridge alongside current ongoing developments. These would be at Alstone – this site could accommodate 300 dwellings but access and proximity to national nature reserve are significant constraints – and an extension of the planned Brue Farm development which could accommodate 200 dwellings but realistically could only come forward as a second phase to Brue Farm.
Burnham town councillor Phil Harvey told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “At this stage these are just proposals, and there are still many options on the table which the public are being encouraged to provide their feedback on. We could see a few hundred new homes in Burnham or we could see over 2,460 which would be 18% of the overall total across Sedgemoor.”
“The plan outlines several of the Burnham sites where the new homes could go – it’s difficult to say if these are good locations, but having so many new homes would certainly justify building a new school and a new park in the town plus other new community facilities.”
The council’s plan outlines potential new development across Sedgemoor right up to the year 2032 – and to help gather this valuable feedback from the public, the Council has produced a consultation document and is inviting comments.
Sedgemoor’s Planning Officers have arranged a series of events, exhibitions and presentations where they can talk through the policies and listen to people’s views. The consultation is the first stage in a long prescribed process, which will end in June 2017.
The consultation period started on Monday October 26th and runs until December 18th, after which the Local Plan will be re-drafted incorporating the changes and put out for further consultation next summer. It will then be subject to examination by planning inspectors.
“Among the topics covered by the Local Plan are Housing, Employment, Retail and Infrastructure. When adopted, the Local Plan will identify the Council’s vision for how these and other topics should be managed, which policies should apply and where new development should be allocated,” said council spokeswoman Claire Faun.
“Other key issues for discussion include safeguarding the natural and historic environment, adapting to climate change and design principles. This is an important opportunity for people living and working in the district to have a say in how it would look for the next generation of citizens.”
“Now is the time to speak up about what sort of place residents want Sedgemoor to be in the future. Planning affects so many aspects of our daily lives from where we live, how we travel, what careers we can choose and how we spend our leisure time, that is why taking an active part in its processes is so worthwhile.”
The consultation document, initial Sustainability Appraisal Report and other relevant supporting documents can be found online on the Council’s website here or at the Sedgemoor District Council Offices, Bridgwater House, Kings Square, Bridgwater, TA6 3AR Monday to Friday – 9:00am to 5.00pm. For further information, contact the Planning Policy team on 01278 435544 or by email at ldf@sedgemoor.gov.uk
Local consultation events will be held on the plans in coming weeks:
Burnham-On-Sea
Public consultation – Saturday 31st October 9am-3pm at Food and Drink Festival, Princess Street
Burnham and Highbridge
Town Council consultation – Monday 2nd November 6:30pm at Old Court House
Berrow
Public consultation – Tuesday 3rd November (1 –6:15pm) at Berrow Village Hall
Highbridge
Public consultation – Tuesday 10th November 1-8pm at Highbridge Community Hall
East Brent and Rooksbridge
Public consultation – Thursday 26th November 2-8pm at Village Hall
