'Real risk' as homes to be built without link road

Hundreds of new homes are to be built without a link road, creating a "real risk" to people's lives, a councillor has said.

The final stage of Taunton's Nerrols Farm development, which includes 292 homes, has now been approved after years of debates and complaints. But without the proposed link road, all of the new residents will have to use a single road.

Parish councils and Taunton's MP objected to the plans progressing without the new route linking Lyngford Lane to Bossington Drive.

But, councillor Simon Coles, chair of Somerset Council's planning meeting, said if they refused the application, there was 99% chance they will lose on appeal.

Once complete, the Nerrols Farm development will include about 900 homes and a new primary school.

Developer David Wilson Homes argued that delivering the link road was not practical due to a narrow "ransom strip" between the phase two and three sites, which was outside of its ownership, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

To offset the increase in traffic onto nearby roads, an additional walking and cycling link will be provided, offering a route to Pyrland School and the Wellsprings Leisure Centre.

Numerous residents and councillors spoke against the application when it was debated at a meeting on 15 April.

Councillor David Fothergill said traffic assessments were not conducted on the north side of the development and he believed this information would change the outcome.

"Are you going to put residents and their children at real risk because you haven't seen the information you need to make the right decision?", he said.

Resident Kate Wilson added: "None of this makes any sense. The consequences of these plans will not only be unsafe, but irreversible."

The committee approved the plans by five votes to four, with one abstention.

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.