A DEVELOPER near Bristol is making not one, but two attempts to build new homes on the former site of a Somerset primary school.
3C Commercial Ltd., which is based in Bradley Stoke near the city, has made numerous attempts to build homes on the former Somerset Bridge school site on Hamp Bridge in Bridgwater, which closed in 2010.
The most recent attempt, comprising 31 homes and an office, was refused by Sedgemoor District Council in February – at the same time that separate plans for nine homes at the other end of the road were approved.
The developer has now put forward two sets of new plans, which if approved will see dozens of new homes built along the River Parrett.
The former school site, which lies at the eastern end of Hamp Bridge, was badly damaged by fire in September 2019 – many years after the Somerset Bridge school relocated to its current site on Stockmoor Drive.
Hamp Bridge is a narrow lane leading off the A38 Taunton Road near the Somerset Bridge Medical Centre, which terminates in a narrow section near the new Squibbers Way (though pedestrians and cyclists can still get through).
One set of plans envisions 44 new homes and an office for the site, while the other reduces the number of homes to 36 – the same number that was refused permission in December 2020.
Both plans would involve building on the existing AutoSpares outlet near the former school site, as well as demolishing a nearby bungalow.
A spokesman for Chapel Estates Ltd. (representing the applicant) said each proposal was designed to “meet the need for small family housing in Bridgwater”.
They added: “The finished floor level of the houses will need to be set above the existing ground levels to protect from storm events and resulting flooding.
“The application site is within walking distance of the local shops, amenities and local businesses via the adopted foot-way and cycleway links.”
In each version of the plans, two access points onto Hamp Bridge will be provided, with green space being set aside at the rear leading down to the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal.
In each case, the two-storey office will be provided at the western end of the site, with the road being widened to 5.5 metres at each of the junctions.
Councillor Leigh Redman – whose Bridgwater Hamp ward includes the site – said the new homes would create huge traffic issues in the local area, and warned the proposed access may not be safe.
He said: “The development will negatively impact the highways [network] because it would overwhelm existing infrastructure capacity.
“I would need to see dramatic improvements to the entrance and egress to allow this application to proceed.
“Inferring that ‘it was okay when the school was open, so it’s okay now’ is not a fair argument.”
The council is expected to make a decision on both sets of proposals by the late spring.
Written by Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter
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