Anthony Canvin applied in June 2022 to build up to 34 light industrial units off the A359 High Street in Sparkford, intended as ‘starter units’ to provide a base for small businesses in the local area.
Somerset Council’s planning committee south was originally due to consider the plans in late-September after more than two years of delays.
READ MORE: Somerset plans for new business units near A303 delayed
However, a decision was pushed back after it emerged the planning officer responsible for the application had recently left the council, as a result of its ongoing transformation programme.
Following further consultation and an extensive rewrite of his report, the plans were approved by the same committee when it met in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (October 22).
The new business units will be arranged in eight blocks on a greenfield site between the former Haynes publishing site to the north and the site of a planned development of 45 homes and a 60-bed care home.
These plans entail the creation of a new access road off the A359, providing the new businesses with a straightforward route to the A303 – with National Highways’ dualling work on the section between Sparkford and Ilchester expected to be completed by the spring of 2025.
Richard Squires, who lives near the site and sits on Sparkford Parish Council, objected to the plans when the committee convened in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (October 22).
He said: “This is an ancient water meadow of historical interest, and one of the last green spaces in the village – it is a haven for wildlife.
“There are many issues with flooding in the area, and this field floods whenever there is heavy rain.
“If the field is covered with concrete and Tarmac, it will create flooding issues elsewhere.
“The predicted increase in traffic on the High Street by 39 per cent has become a reality now that the A303 is nearly complete.
“The whole village will have to live with the smell, noise and light pollution from this site, which will affect residents’ mental health and well-being.
“It doesn’t seem right that someone can come along, pick a productive green field in the centre of a small village, and turn it into a commercial development with no-one in the village wanting it – especially when there are brownfield sites available for development elsewhere.”
Sparkford and its neighbouring villages were badly hit by flooding in May 2023, with 177 properties being subjected to internal flooding after the area experienced 130mm of rainfall in just 90 minutes.
Martin Coulsey, who also lives in the village, said: “This proposed industrial development cannot be deemed to be commensurate in scale and character with Sparkford – which is more than well-served, as you know, by commercial units within a mile. There is no need for this whatsoever.
“There have been more than 90 objections to the plans, and we respectfully urge the committee to listen to the people of Sparkford.”
Councillor Henry Hobhouse (whose Castle Cary division includes Sparkford) reiterated his previous concerns about flooding in the village, which he made in late-September before resigning from the committee.
He said: “In 2006, raw sewage started coming up in Church Road. It is still coming up in Church Road 18 years later.
“The situation is that the Sparkford sewage farm will not be upgraded because there are less than 2,000 people in the village. It has released sewage into the River Cam on 72 occasions between January 1 and April 30 – 72 times in 102 days.
“Sewage from both Hazelgrove School and the Haynes Motor Museum are pumped into the sewage system at night – there is no space capacity in the system at all.”
Councillor Stephen Page (Somerton) said: “Within Sparkford, there are already existing, empty, redundant buildings that could be used – for instance, the old Haynes publishing site and the Cadbury Business Park.
“We should take this into consideration – there is capacity here. Do we need to add more industrial buildings into what is essentially a rural settlement?”
Despite these reservations, the committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of six votes to two.