Villagers in Somerset have won their first battle to stop 50 new homes being built – but the fight is far from over.

Residents of Merriott have joined with their district councillor to fight proposals for a new housing development on green land south of Church Street.

A council committee narrowly voted on Wednesday evening (October 17) to go against their own planning officers and turn the “unsustainable” plans down.

But a separate committee within the same council could still wave the proposals through when it meets in November.

Merriott LVA LLP applied for outline planning permission to build the homes at the northern end of the village, near the First School.

The site has been subsequently included within South Somerset District Council’s Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA), which identifies land to meet future housing needs.

Being included within the HELAA does not, however, mean planning permission for the site would automatically be granted.

At a meeting of the council’s area west committee in Chard on Wednesday evening (October 17), planning officer Andrew Gunn admitted that 142 homes had either been built or granted permission in Merriott in the last few years.

He added: “I accept that bus services are small, and employment could be higher.”

If the development was approved, it would provide a financial contribution towards the school – but it would not be sufficient to build a second school in the village.

Council leader Val Keitch raised concerns the development could “increase the pressure” on the school if it shifted from a three-tier to a two-tier system – a proposal currently being explored by Somerset County Council.

Ian Hall, chairman of Merriott Parish Council, said: “We are not full of reactionary older people who want to pull the drawbridge up.

“We’ve already supported four application involving 142 dwellings – if this goes through it’s up to 192.

“We absolutely understand the need for housing – we totally buy into that, but on this site we don’t support it.”

Paul Fisher, who has lived in the village for 35 years, argued the site could only safely take a maximum of 38 homes if it was developed.

He said: “We have a duty of care for the long-term future of Merriott.”

Russell Williams from Greenslade Taylor Hunt, which is representing the applicant, said that the development would deliver a safe footpath between the site and the school, which was in line with the village’s Neighbourhood Plan. 

Councillor Paul Maxwell – whose Eggwood ward includes Merriott – said the local landscape “would be obliterated by this development”.

He added: “This is a greenfield site, which despite a lack of technical objection does have wildlife, ecological and landscape value.

“Merriott First School is now at capacity, and this development should not go ahead.

“The public transport provision in Merriott is virtually nil, and I don’t believe that this development will help the situation.”

Councillor Andrew Turpin described the development as “wholly unsustainable”, arguing: “People of poor means cannot survive in a town or village where there is not adequate public transport.”

Councillor Ric Pallister sympathised with the villagers’ plight, but said it would be difficult to defend refusing these plans at an appeal.

He said: “The village wants a brownfield site developed out – we’ve worked with them, but there isn’t an application on the table. We can’t take account of what might happen in the future.

“I haven’t heard one justification that would stand up about leaving that piece of land on its own. We haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance of winning this one on appeal.”

After further deliberation, the plans were refused by the committee by a margin of five to four (with two abstentions) on the ground that it would “result in unsustainable development in an unsuitable location”.

The council’s regulation committee will meet in Yeovil to discuss the plans afresh on November 20 at 10am. The public are welcome to attend.