PLANS for the first part of a 1,200 home development in East Bridgwater have been submitted this week.

An application has been submitted to Sedgemoor District Council for 260 homes on land at Bower Farm, as well as a new roundabout and access road.

Edward Ware Homes, who have submitted the application on behalf of the Winter family which owns the site, say this first phase could create up to 390 full-time construction jobs for Bridgwater.

The farm is currently accessed off Bower Lane and is close to the M5, and the 8.88 hectare site forms part of a 1,200 home 'new neighbourhood' outlined in Sedgemoor District Council's Local Plan.

It is also proposed that a new roundabout will be constructed on the junction of Westonzoyland Road and Bower Lane to create the new access to the site.

An Edward Ware Homes spokesman said: "The development of the application site has been the subject of extensive pre-application discussions with Sedgemoor District Council as the local planning authority and Somerset County Council as the highways authority."

The site is relatively flat and largely covered by Bower Farm's permanent polytunnels and glasshouses used for horticulture, while there are also two industrial buildings, one home and some temporary caravans which accommodate occasional workers at the farm.

The southern portion of the site is land used for the grazing of horses.

As this in an outline application, it does not go into detail as to how many two-bedroom and three-bedroom homes will be built or the proportion which will be set aside for affordable housing.

However the density of the properties is estimated to be between 35 to 45 dwellings per hectare, and the buildings will either be two or three storey.

The application also says there will be provision for cyclists and walkers, as well as a road designed to be used by buses.

To view the full application go to sedgemoor.gov.uk/planning_online and search application 09/17/00031.