Nearly 50 new homes will be built near one of Somerset's busiest railway stations if revised proposals are given the green light.

Castle Cary has seen significant housing growth over the last decade, with numerous new estates being approved between the town centre and the railway station, which lies in the neighbouring parish of Ansford.

Backhouse Housing teased initial plans in July 2025 to deliver 60 homes on Burfitt Road, opposite a proposed development of 200 homes north of the A371 Ansford Hill.

Following a public consultation, the Chippenham-based developer has published revised plans for the development, reducing the number of homes to 49.

Backhouse previously delivered 74 homes on the neighbouring Lovel's Farm site, which lies off the B3152 Station Road.

This new development would be accessed from Burfitt Road within the Lovel's Farm site, with a pedestrian access being provided onto Lockett Drive at the site's western edge.

A further pedestrian access will be provided onto Ansford Hill, with the possibility of a pedestrian crossing over the main road.

If delivered, this would provide a complete walking and cycling link to the railway station (which handles around 310,000 passenger journeys per year) via the existing footpath within the Station Green site.

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No pedestrian link is currently proposed to link the Backhouse site with Redcliffe Homes' planned development of 29 houses on the B3152 Station Road (which was approved in September 2024).

A spokesman for Grass Roots Planning (representing the developer) said: "The proposals will provide significant benefits, not least the provision of 49

dwellings (of which up to 17 will be affordable), in an accessible location, where there is a severe and acute lack of five-year housing land supply.

"Given the scale of the scheme, and the factor that a house-builder is involved, these proposals would likely be built out within five years and contribute to the immediate deficit in land supply.

"The density of the scheme has been adapted to respond to the character of the site and the landscape baseline, with the design reflecting the recently approved scheme adjacent, to ensure consistency and harmony between recent developments.

"We commend this application to the council for approval to boost its supply

of housing and allow housing delivery to commence as soon as possible in this highly sustainable location."

Castle Cary lies within the River Brue catchment area, meaning that Backhouse will need to secure additional mitigation as part of the development to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors.

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The developer is proposing to create a new orchard on the eastern part of the site to assist with this, as well as meeting government requirements that any new development must boost biodiversity by ten per cent.

Somerset Council is expected to make a decision on both these proposals and the revised Station Green plans by the end of the year.

Due to the scale and significance of both developments, both decisions are likely to be taken in public by the council's planning committee south (which handles major applications within the former South Somerset area), rather than through the delegated powers of its planning officers.