I have heard from the Planning department at Mendip District Council that the planning application for 96 homes at the end of Packsaddle Way has recently been withdrawn.  This was application reference 2018/0256/OTA, submitted earlier this year.  There were over 130 public comments, including 107 objections and 28 in support.

Official objections were submitted by Frome Town Council (after a well attended debate at the Planning Advisory Panel) on a wide range of issues, and Mendip council’s Environmental Protection team and Wessex Water in relation to the need to protect new residents against the unavoidable fly nuisance emanating from the town’s sewage treatment works located close by.

Details of the proposals and my objection can be found here – these issues have prevented Mendip’s planning team from being able to support this development.

This is like deja vu, all over again. I reported on the previous planning application for 107 houses here, which was also withdrawn after generating much opposition.

The site is also identified as a potentially allocated development site for up to 100 homes in policy FR6 of Mendip’s Pre-Submission Local Plan Part 2. This policy has attracted a great number of objections (see the Local Plan allocation proposal here). The current timetable for the Local Plan (see here and here) has any Modifications being considered and consulted on in August, the public Examination over the autumn, the inspector’s report next April and the final adoption of the Local Plan in June 2019.

This is a victory for the campaigners against the overdevelopment of this site. I will keep you informed.