Farleigh Fields plan scrapped
Persimmon South West has withdrawn its planning application to build a housing estate on Farleigh Fields, Backwell.
The developer put in an application to North Somerset Council on December 22 setting out the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale of 113 houses on the land, which local people have campaigned to keep as green space for many years.
It withdrew the application on February 8 with no explanation. Local people had expressed concerns about flooding, traffic levels and impact on village amenities if the development went ahead.
A Planning Inspector ruled last year that building could go ahead on the land –even though previous applications had been turned down at every level including the Secretary of State.
Persimmon had originally wanted to develop a much larger area of the fields, which form a hillside bordering the historic Backwell Church. With no explanation from the developer speculation is growing that they will return with an enlarged plan on more of the fields.
The developer was planning to access the land by demolishing two houses it had purchased on the A370 increasing traffic on the busy commuter route. Increased water run-off from the hill caused by the development would be mitigated by an artificially created pond as part of the plans.
The application was being considered at a time when traffic lights had to be installed on the A370 because of heavy flooding and run-off from the hill at nearby Flax Bourton.
Backwell was the first village in the country to produce a Neighbourhood Plan setting out where development should take place. In the plan Farleigh Fields was designated as green space. The Conservative Government encouraged villages to draw up such plans but Planning Inspectors have not been instructed to give them strong weight when planning appeals are considered.
Photo Credit: Neil James Brain
