New homes could be built near the cemetery on the edge of Somerset National Park

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New homes could be built on the edge of Somerset National Park if plans are approved by local authorities.

Acorn Developments SW Ltd. requested the construction of ten houses on a small plot on Porlock Road, adjacent to Minehead Cemetery.

The Taunton-based developer – not to be confused with property group of the same name Acorn – has already delivered new homes on Periton Lane and The Shires in the town.

Somerset West and Taunton Council are expected to make a decision on plans for Porlock Road by the end of the year.

The site – which is outside the Minehead development boundary – is on the southwest corner of the cemetery, between Porlock Road and the existing houses on Home Meadow.

Access will be from Porlock Road, with the existing public footpath along the northern boundary preserved and a new pedestrian link to the cemetery included.

A total of 38 parking spaces will be provided on site, with the houses being three or four bedrooms.

A spokesperson for Boon Brown Architects (representing the applicant) said: “This low density allows for a proposal that delivers an enhanced net biodiversity gain whilst maintaining the rural aspect of the site, respecting the surrounding local context.

“The program includes individual dwellings that have been organically positioned on the site, around a new shared surface access road, again referencing the rural feel.

“The architectural language of the proposal was again inspired by the wider context of the city, expressing key design features and maintaining a consistent material palette appropriate to the location of the site.”

Both this site and the land to the south are identified for future housing as part of the council’s Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA), with the combined area expected to provide 55 new here 2032.

Minehead is expected to deliver over 1,000 new homes across multiple sites over the next decade, in addition to the council’s own program to deliver 54 low-cost new homes on Seaward Way by the end of 2023.

Housing delivery in the district has been stalled by the phosphate crisis, with thousands of homes in the former Taunton Deane area blocked by the need for further mitigation to prevent phosphate levels from rising in the site Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar.

However, the majority of the former West Somerset area (including Minehead) lies outside this catchment area, meaning that many major housing projects – such as the Liddymore Park development in Watchet – have been able to progress rapidly.

Council is expected to make a decision on the Porlock Road proposals before Christmas.

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