A fresh attempt is being made to redevelop the former Greencore factory site in Evercreech into housing. West Estates Development Ltd has submitted new plans for 110 homes on the B3081 Prestleigh Road site, nearly two years after a previous proposal was dismissed on appeal.

The factory closed in November 2018, with the loss of around 400 local jobs. The Sunderland-based developer has twice failed to secure permission for the site, including a scheme for 118 homes and an employment or community hub which was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate in July 2024.

The site sits on the eastern side of Prestleigh Road, close to the primary school, medical centre and local cricket club. Under the new proposal, access would be taken from Prestleigh Road, with attenuation ponds installed to help manage localised flood risk.

The plans include tree-lined streets across the estate and a formal play space at the heart of the development. Kemps Mill, built in 1860, would be retained as flexible commercial space, while a direct pedestrian access to the recreation ground would be added to reduce traffic on Neal's Way and Queen's Road.

The 110 homes would range from two-bedroom to four-bedroom houses. Of these, 33 would be affordable, meeting Somerset Council's 30 per cent target for developments of ten homes or more within the former Mendip area.

A spokesperson for POD Design, representing the applicant, said the proposal was a "considerate development" arranged in response to the site's constraints and opportunities. They said the scheme would include generous green open space at the front, pedestrian and cycle links to all boundaries, and would be a "positive addition to the area".

Because Evercreech lies within the River Brue catchment, the development must include mitigation to prevent any net increase in phosphates on the Somerset Levels and Moors. The developer intends to purchase phosphate credits, which are typically generated by taking agricultural land out of use within the same catchment or by upgrading septic tanks to package treatment plants.

The plans have received a mixed response from residents living near the site. Bethan Stanley said she was "really disappointed" to see another submission which she felt failed to address issues raised by the previous plan.

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She said people in the village would welcome a suitable housing scheme, but argued the latest proposal had only changed the earlier plans "as minimally as possible". She added that the poor state of the site should not be used as a reason to allow unsuitable development.

Another resident, Helen Arcoleo, who said she lives opposite the site, supported the new application. She said the disused factory was degrading rapidly, had become a danger to the public during storms, and was often used as a "playground" by local teenagers.

She said there would be more traffic at the beginning and end of the working day, but argued that homes were needed and that it was better to build on a brownfield site than on local fields. The council is expected to make a decision by early 2027.

Given the scale and significance of the plans, the application is expected to be decided in public by Somerset Council's planning committee east rather than under delegated officer powers. The Planning Inspectorate is also expected to rule within the next 12 months on whether a further 40 homes can be built near a working pig farm to the north of the former factory site.

Original reporting: LDRS/Daniel Mumby

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