Delighted councillors and residents in Highbridge were celebrating on Wednesday afternoon (January 9th) after being told that a housing developer’s bid to build on an area of open green land had failed.
Residents living besides Queen Square in Highbridge were overjoyed to hear that the Planning Inspectorate has decided to reject an appeal by Raglan Housing Association to build two three-storey buildings, each containing six flats, on the land.
The decision comes after a long campaign by councillors and residents to fight the scheme, which was initially rejected in May and was followed by an appeal from the developer.
Highbridge councillors Joe Leach and Danny Titcombe, who led the campaign to save the land, welcomed the news on Wednesday.
Cllr Leach told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I am extremely pleased with the decision on Queen Square, the victory is one for all of Highbridge – even Sedgemoor, because we have shown that we will not be railroaded into a position we don’t want to be in.”
“It’s about time that people’s needs and wants were put first, rather than just targets and statistics, and no matter what we will keep working to make sure the people of Highbridge are heard.”
And Cllr Titcombe (pictured) added: “This is a fantastic result for the residents of Morland. It was fantastic that the Planning Inspectorate recognised the merits of having community aspects to an estate instead of just houses.”
“A great deal of effort was put into this by all councillors involved in it. It was gratifying that the Planning Inspector concurred with nearly all of my planning objections that I had laid out in a letter to the Inspectorate and I am sure that my views were reiterated by every other letter of objection that was sent. It is proof that when councillors and the community work together they can make a difference.”
Our main photo shows Highbridge councillors Joe Leach and Danny Titcombe and local residents celebrating at the site on Wednesday
