Residents of a small Somerset village can breathe a sigh of relief after plans for 30 new homes were dismissed on appeal.

Springleaze Trading Ltd., which is based in Trowbridge, applied to build the homes on the B3110 Frome Road in Norton St Philip, between Frome and Bath.

Mendip District Council refused the plans in May 2021, citing harm to local heritage assets, "encroachment" into open countryside and a lack of information about how flood risk would be mitigated.

The Planning Inspectorate has now upheld this decision, ensuring the development will not go ahead.

The site lies at the south-eastern edge of the village, between the existing homes on Frome Road and a site which has been earmarked for a potential new primary school should the village require it.

While the sole vehicular access would have been from Frome Road, the developer has promised to provide a pedestrian link across the existing fields to link up with Tellisford Lane to the north.

Ten of the 30 new homes would have been affordable – meeting the council's 30 per cent target for any new major development – and a community orchard would have been provided at the southern edge of the site.

Planning inspector Liam Page conducted the appeal through written representations rather than staging a public inquiry, visiting the site on May 10 and publishing his decision on the Planning Inspectorate's website on Tuesday (June 21).

While the council does seem the site to be "a sustainable location for housing", Mr Page ruled the current proposal "would not be justified" since it would amount to building into the open countryside.

He added: "The open rural character and appearance of the countryside, and transitional lower density development along Frome Road, would be eroded by the proposal."

Mr Page noted that the developer and Somerset County Council – which is the lead local flood authority – had "unresolved concerns" about surface water drainage within the site as of late-November 2021, and "did not agree that a solution was altogether feasible".

He ruled that flooding within the site was still possible in light of this impasse and a lack of evidence to the contrary, stating there was "too much uncertainty" as to whether the matter could be resolved.

While Mr Page argued that the affordable housing within the site would be welcome (especially in light of the district council not having a five-year land supply), he reasoned this was not enough to justify the development.

He said: "Given the cumulative nature of the harm derived from this conflict, there is significant weight against the proposal.

"Norton St. Philip experienced planning permissions for housing between 2006 and 2019 that was around three times higher than the minimum level of proportionate housing growth that was identified.

"Consequently, while there may be a residual need in the north-east region of the district more broadly, it is not clear that there is a particular need in Norton St. Philip, or that it could continue to sustain additional housing growth in meeting the residual need in the north-east region."

Norton St Philip has been subject to several major developments in recent times, with its close proximity to both Bath and Frome proving to be attractive to house-builders.

Decisions are currently pending on phase two of the Fortescue Fields development, comprising 27 homes along Mackley Lane, and plans for 27 homes and a commercial garage on the A366 Bell Hill.

Separate plans for 20 homes to the west of Fortescue Street were refused by the council's planning officers in late April.

Mr Page concluded: "Overall, the adverse impacts would be significant, and the benefits would be moderate."