Councillors have rejected proposals for 200 homes on the outskirts of a North Somerset town which residents claim is already experiencing "house building overload."
St Mowden Homes sought to develop a new housing estate on working farmland at the south west edge of Nailsea in North Somerset.
However, councillors cautioned the proposals lacked adequate supporting infrastructure and residents would virtually require a helipad to access the town centre - before narrowly voting to deny planning permission.
This marks the first substantial housing scheme to be rejected by the council's planning committee since the new Labour government raised North Somerset Council's housing target shortly after taking office in July.
The government requires the council to deliver a compulsory 23,895 new homes by 2040 - equating to 1,593 homes annually - and planning committee councillors have been instructed to apply a "tilted balance" to their decisions whilst falling short of the target.
Nevertheless, councillors refused to approve St Mowden Homes' proposal.
Speaking to the committee during discussions on August 20, Nailsea resident Anthony Evans had appealed to councillors: "Challenges though it may bring, please have the courage to say no to this development. You know this site is not suitable."
Nailsea town council clerk Jo Duffy added: "Nailsea has already shouldered a disproportionate burden of development in recent years. 673 houses have already been given permission in this part of the town alone."
In a statement before the plans went to committee, Jessica Holt of St. Modwen Homes, said: "Many young people struggle to remain in towns such as Nailsea due to affordability issues; older people can't downsize because options aren't available and with 3,300 people on the council's housing waiting list (and only around 600 homes becoming available each year) there's a desperate need for more social housing.
"We've listened carefully to the local community, and our proposals reflect the priorities raised by residents - more affordable homes, better infrastructure, and accessible green space."
St Modwen Homes said the scheme would feature 60 affordable and social rent properties, with the developers contributing £450k towards public transport and up to £96.8k for traffic calming and highways improvements.
Jason Tate, speaking to the committee on behalf of the developer, said: "This is a positive scheme on a suitable site."
However, local councillor Oliver Ellis (Nailsea West End, Conservative) cautioned: "This goes against almost everything we are trying to achieve."
The farmland sits beyond the Nailsea settlement boundary and the council had chosen not to designate the site for housing in its local plan.
Committee members also raised concerns it would create a car-dependent development - adding further strain to congested roads already struggling to manage current traffic levels.
The homes would be situated on a country lane accessed via the entrance to Taylor Wimpey's 450-home Netherton Grange development - a proposal the council had previously tried unsuccessfully to block due to highway concerns.
Mike Bird (Nailsea Yeo, Independent) cautioned that Nailsea - which only achieved town status in 1956 - was unsuitable for such significant expansion.
He said: "It's an island in the middle of a moor." He added that the council sought new developments to be "infrastructure first."
He told the committee: "This development before you isn't even infrastructure last. It isn't infrastructure at all."
However, whilst North Somerset Council lags behind its housing target - established by central government - schemes that would typically be deemed unsustainable face greater likelihood of approval upon appeal.
In March, housebuilder Persimmon secured planning consent on appeal to build 190 dwellings within a flood zone in Yatton, with the planning inspector declaring: "It will be necessary to allocate some sites that are at risk of flooding to meet the housing needs of the district."
The council is challenging that ruling in the High Court.
Discussing the proposals for the 200 dwellings in Nailsea, Robert Payne (Weston-super-Mare Central, Liberal Democrat) said: "I totally understand that people don't like the relentless march of these housing estates going further and further into the rural aspect. [...] I really don't understand how you can call something like this suitable when people can't access the town's centre very easily."
However, he cautioned: "Because of the shortfall in land supply we have for pretty much no say in the matter."
Roger Whitfield (Portishead East, Portishead Independents) remarked: "I really do feel for the people of Nailsea on this one. I'm from Portishead and when it comes to relentless development we have seen that and it totally changes the character of your area. But I don't know what we can do to stop that."
He continued: "We are between a rock and a hard place."
However - in an unusual move against the proposed development - Clare Hunt (Nailsea Youngwood, Labour) declared she would oppose the scheme. Ms Hunt said: "I live very close to the area, I know it very well. I know we are in difficulty in North Somerset but we did not allocate this site for housing."
She added: "We are not going to be able to improve the roads so I suggest we put in a helipad or something because that's the only way you are going to be able to get in."
Councillors voted 7-5 to reject the planning permission for the plans. Given that this decision contradicts the advice of the council's own planning officers, it will be presented to the committee a second time for councillors to reaffirm their decision before the refusal of planning permission becomes official.
