More than 400 new houses planned for Frome’s northern edge

HUNDREDS of new houses could be built near a popular Frome rugby club under newly revealed proposals.

Land promoter Barwood Land entered into a promotion agreement in February 2021 for around 85 acres (just over 34 hectares) of land on the northern edge of Frome, between Frome Rugby Football Club on Gypsy Lane and the B3090 Oldford Hill.

The company, based just outside Northampton, has submitted initial proposals (known as a screening and scoping request) to deliver up to 420 new houses within the land, along with significant public open space.

Somerset Council is expected to comment on the screening request by the early-spring – after which more detailed plans could be submitted for public consultation. Under the initial proposals, a new access will be created onto the B3090 to the north of the existing crossroads with Cuckoo Hill and Gypsy Lane.

The bulk of the new houses will be concentrated at the southern end of the site, with a central spine road looping around to the west of the rugby club. Of the new houses, 30% will be affordable – the equivalent of 126 properties.

The majority of the land in the northern part of the site will be set aside for public open space, providing a green buffer between the new houses and Windsbatch Lane.

The new houses will be within walking distance of the Commerce Park employment centre, with additional walking and cycling facilities potentially being delivered to reduce car journeys to and from the new houses.

A spokesperson for Rocke Associates (representing Barwood Land) said that this level of growth would be sustainable for Frome – even if the Selwood Garden Community (comprising 1,700 new houses) got the go-ahead at the opposite end of the town.

The spokesperson said, “If planning permission is granted [for the Selwood Garden Community] by the end of 2024, it is reasonable to assume that the scheme could start delivering housing within three years, with the first completions by 2027/28. With two outlets, this could likely achieve c. 120 dwellings per annum.

“With submission of an outline planning application in 2024, and assuming consent in 2025, the proposed development to the north of Frome could potentially start delivering circa 2028 at a rate of c. 60 houses per annum.

“As such, with planned growth and developments to the north and south of Frome, the town could potentially deliver c. 230 dwellings per annum in the period 2027/28 – 2033/34. It is not considered that this combined scale of growth will give rise to any significant impacts.”

The promoter said that the loss of grade three agricultural land was offset by the abundance of similar land on the outskirts of Frome. They added that although the new houses would result in additional traffic, it would not be severe enough to require major improvements to the local road network.

A spokesperson said, “The B3090 Oldford Hill currently carries around 7,750 vehicles per day. The proposed development could generate in order of 1,950 two-way vehicle movements per day. This equates to a 25% increase in traffic flows on the B3090 Oldford Hill, based on the 2022 base survey.

“The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment recommends that a 30% increase in traffic flows represents a reasonable threshold for including a highway link within an environmental assessment.

“From this initial assessment, it is therefore not anticipated that the proposed development will lead to significant environmental effects from traffic movements.”

The site is not allocated for development in either part of the Mendip Local Plan, which were ratified in 2014 and 2021 respectively.

It has also not been included in the recent review of the Mendip Local Plan Part II, prompted by a judicial review against the district council in late-2022 concerning five sites in the north-east corner of the former Mendip district.

Somerset Council is currently in the early stages of creating its new Local Plan, with developers putting forward numerous schemes on sites which could end up becoming officially allocated by 2028.

The council will make a decision on the Oldford Hill screening and scoping request by the spring, with outline plans expected to be submitted later in the year.