Wells areas set out for development

Wells residents are preparing themselves

for major development in the city, as sites have been put forward for potential

housing development. 

As reported first on Wells People here, by eagle-eyed local HappyOldGit, one of these sites is in the west of the city towards Haybridge. 

The sites have been set out by Mendip

District Council to meet what they see as the district’s housing need over the

coming years. 

It is part of the Mendip Strategic Housing

Land Availability Assessment, which sets out a register of sites which could be

built on, either brownfield sites to redevelop or greenfield sites which could

be considered. 

However, it must to noted that this

assessment does not guarantee planning permission and is just a register of

possible sites, not ones actually being put forward at this time. 

For example, sites which can be seen in

Wells here are all the available options, not the places that are definitely going to be

built on.

A site might look huge on the map, but it

is up to the planning process, of which the city council will have a say and

then be decided by the Mendip planning committee with planning experts’

recommendations, to decide what suitable development can be built there, if and

when it is applied for. 

There are some interesting sites on the

map, though, as landowners have put forward some of these sites, rather than

them all being nominated by Mendip. 

There is land suggested in Churchill Road

and Little Entry in the east of the city, along with areas on Milton Lane and Kennion

Road in the west. 

Of course, there are the usual development

sites suggested around Princes Road, the Clares factory site and the Nutricia

land, plus the large area suggested between Wells and Haybridge. 

Clearly there is a need for more housing in

the city - Mendip says it is going to try and avoid developing greenfield

sites, and if a landowner or farmer wants their land to be built on, it is

going to be difficult to stop them. 

By flooding the market with houses, prices

should fall and that will make it easier for local people to get on or move up

the property ladder. 

However, what will the cost be to the city’s

countryside if mass developments go ahead? 

All would agree that something needs to be

done with the Nutricia and Clares sites, but Wells is unique as a city because

of its rural charm, and will this be lost if housing springs up in

inappropriate places? 

For those who missed the meetings in Wells

and Wookey about the plans, there is still one in Chilcompton Village Hall on

Tuesday, March 15, from 6pm to 8pm, where members of the public are encouraged

to go along and see it all for themselves.