Ilminster housing plan finally adopted after a decade's work

The Ilminster Neighbourhood Plan has been almost a decade in the making, with the town council embarking on the process in October 2015 and holding its first public workshops in the summer of 2017.

After a lengthy series of updates and delays (caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic), Ilminster residents went to the polls on August 21 to vote on the Neighbourhood Plan - with nearly 83 per cent voting in favour (on a turnout of just under 17 per cent).

Somerset Council has now formally adopted the Neighbourhood Plan into its formal planning policy - meaning it can be used to determine future applications for housing and commercial space in the town until 2036.

The Neighbourhood Plan contains a series of policies designed to protect Ilminster's character and green spaces while setting standards for new developments - including a design guide to which any new homes should aspire.

The document only officially designates one site for future housing development: the Canal Way site at the southern edge of the town, where Persimmon Homes South West secured outline permission for 360 homes in January 2024.

The Neighbourhood Plan does not prevent other sites coming forward for development - such as the former Horlicks factory site on the B3168 Station Road - where Dairygrove Co-operative Society Ltd. intends to deliver 150 homes and new commercial units.

However, any development on non-allocated or "windfall" sites will be held to the same standards as the Canal Way site.

The Plan also identifies key green spaces within the town to be protected and enhanced (including the recreation ground on Canal Way) and local walking and cycling routes which can be improved (such as the Stop Line Way, which links the town to Donyatt and Chard).

The plan was formally adopted by the council's planning and transport policy sub-committee when it met in Taunton on Wednesday morning (October 8).

Councillor Liz Leyshon, deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance, procurement and performance, praised the town council and its partners for sticking with the Neighbourhood Plan through all its twists and turns.

Ms Leyshon (who represents the Street division) said: "I think we should just applaud the tenacity of all those involved in this - it's obviously been a protracted process."

The Ilminster Neighbourhood Plan is designed to complement existing planning policies (such as the inherited South Somerset Local Plan), and will form part of the new Somerset Local Plan - with the first round of public consultation on the latter expected to be held in the spring of 2026.

With the Neighbourhood Plan now in place, Ilminster Town Council will be able to retain a larger proportion of community infrastructure levy (CIL) paid by local housing developers - meaning more funding will be available for projects at a local level.

While town and pariah councils normally receive 15 per cent of all CIL collected from their given area, this rises to 25 per cent once a Neighbourhood Plan is in place.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adults services, housing and homelessness, said she hoped that this plan would give Ilminster residents a greater sense of ownership over local planning decisions.

Ms Wakefield (who represents the Blackdown and Neroche division near Wellington) said: "If you do all this work and then you think that it's not, in fact, going to influence decisions in the way you want, it is incredibly disappointing.

"The ability to put a Neighbourhood Plan together is so hard. So many parishes, particularly the smaller ones, have said they can't do it because they haven't got the skills or ability to do it.

"I do think it's important that the government and the council take note that people want their views to be taken into account, and they want the Neighbourhood Plan that they've worked so hard on to actually influence the way we develop more than they currently do."