Nearly 350 new homes could be delivered on a major development site near the M5 in Somerset if plans are approved by local councillors.
C. G. Fry and Son Ltd. is currently delivering the Jurston Fields development on the A38 West Buckland Road in Wellington, a stone's throw from the Westpark 26 business park and the recently upgraded Chelston Link Road (formerly known as the 'concrete carriageway').
The outline planning permission for the site (granted by Taunton Deane Borough Council in December 2015) envisions up to 650 homes being delivered within the entire site, with land also being provided for a new primary school and community facilities.
The Dorchester-based developer is now trying to secure revised permission for the remaining phases of the site, would would see 335 new homes delivered – bringing the eventual total to 718.
Phases one and two of the development, comprising 193 homes at the south-western end of the site, received planning permission in August 2017 and has been completely built.
Phase three, comprising 190 homes at the north-western corner, received planning consent from Somerset West and Taunton Council in June 2020 and is currently under construction.
This phase has been the subject of an ongoing legal challenge surrounding phosphate mitigation, with the Supreme Court hearing the matter in mid-February 2025 and expected to make a final ruling before Christmas.
As part of the outline planning permission, all reserved matters applications (i.e. those providing the detailed design and layout of the new homes in each phase) have to be submitted within ten years of the original consent (i.e. by December 2025).
In light of this time-scale, C. G. Fry teased plans in late-June for all four remaining phases, which will deliver 335 dwellings – 67 more than originally allowed for within the outline planning consent.
Phases four, five, six and seven of the Jurston Fields estate will focus on the eastern half of the development site, beginning towards the existing homes on Aspin Close and slowly working south towards West Buckland Road.
The additional 67 homes will be delivered within two distinct parcels of land – one within phase five, and one within phase six, not far from land allocated for a new primary school.
The remaining phases will include 84 affordable homes (including a significant amount of one-bedroom properties) and public open space, including a 'pump track' and new play areas.
In line with the outline proposals, the eastern limit of the site will be used to deliver allotments and woodland, providing a green buffer between the new homes and the Westpark 26 site (which Summerfield Developments is currently expanding).
C. G. Fry and Son (which secured permission in early-September to deliver : 620 new homes in Shepton Mallet) said it had made substantial alterations to the original plans to reflect "lessons learned" from the earlier stages of construction.
A spokesperson said: "We have refined the original masterplan to ensure we create successful courtyards with more tree planting and vegetation, a mixture of dwellings with front and rear gardens, and key buildings that terminate vistas and create interest.
"We will provide larger gardens (and gardens to all coach houses), ensure all public open space is overlooked, and provide a sensitive buffer of rear gardens along the top northern and south-western boundary.
"We will ensure our urban design principles are adhered to, and continue the use of specific architectural detailing found in and around Wellington to encompass the sense of place."
Because Wellington lies within the River Tone catchment, any new development must include additional mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.
The developer will be purchasing phosphate credits (generated by fallowing agricultural land elsewhere in the catchment) to offset any new homes delivered before April 2030 – the date by which Wessex Water is expected to have completed upgrades of all its major waste waste treatment works (including those in Wellington), allowing more phosphates to be extracted.
Somerset Council is expected to make a final decision on these proposals by the spring of 2026.
Due to the scale and significance of these plans, such a decision is likely to taken in public by its planning committee west (which handles major applications within the former Somerset West and Taunton area) rather than through the delegated powers of its planning officers.
If approval is granted, initial construction work on the northernmost phase (phase seven) could begin before the end of 2026, with the first homes being built in this area in 2027 – around the time when Wellington's new railway station is expected to enter service.
The entire development is expected to be completed and occupied by 2032.
