CONTROVERSIAL plans to build 400 homes on Ilminster’s south west border have been recommended for refusal by district councillors.

The decision was made at the South Somerset District Council’s Area West committee last Wednesday (August 16).

As the three-hour long meeting drew to a close, councillors decided that they would send the application to SSDC’s regulation committee.

This, councillors hope, will give further opportunity for developers Persimmon Homes South West to provide some more information about their plans and for the regulation committee to see if there are planning grounds on which to refuse the application.

District councillors for Ilminster, Linda Piggott-Vijeh and Val Keitch, both received applause from the full-house of residents at the Chard Guildhall for their summarising comments, in which both spoke out against the volume of homes being proposed for the Canal Way site.

Among other concerns raised by both councillors and members of the public were fears over flooding, worries at a lack of a masterplan for the site, and concerns over highways, including additional traffic that would come with a proposed improved Greenfylde School.

The Highways authority initially recommended the outline plan for refusal.

However, after Persimmon modified the site entrance to include two zebra crossings and made certain a second access from Adams Meadow was for emergency vehicles only, Highways recommended approval.

But Cllr Piggott-Vijeh said: “The application as we are looking at it should not be approved on the grounds of density, and I don’t believe we have had sufficient information on the concerns raised to be able to make a decision.”

Cllr Keitch, who is mayor of Ilminster, said: “I do have major concerns for the future of Ilminster because of the density of the site, the highways issues, and the lack of employment opportunities in Ilminster.

“I said this at a town council meeting very soon after I was elected to Ilminster Town Council, ‘I don’t want to see Ilminster become a dormitory town’.”

Initially, a proposal was made to reject the planning application on grounds of density.

However, planning officers advised against this as the outline plan is not in contravention of any density guidelines.

Then, a plan to defer the decision to await more information on counter-measures for flooding and a possible site masterplan were discussed.

However, both these measures are not part of an outline plan and will come in a later, full planning application.

In the end, a proposal was made to send the Canal Way outline plan to the SSDC regulation committee with a recommendation that they refuse it.

Eight councillors voted in favour of this, while Cllr Wale abstained as he is on the regulation committee.