Town councillors want to see the construction of a new primary school and A38 roundabout in Highbridge brought forward so that the town can better cope with the development of 550 new homes.
Fresh concerns about the infrastructure in place around the site of the huge multi-million pound development at Brue Farm on the southern side of Highbridge have been raised by the Town Council’s Planning Applications Committee this week.
Developer Hallam Land Management plans to build a new primary school, a new nursery, a park, sports pitches and a play area as part of a phased development at the site. But many worry whether Highbridge’s existing medical centre, schools and roads can cope with an influx of thousands of new residents.
Cllr Phil Harvey told Burnham-On-Sea.com after the latest meeting: “We’ve raised several concerns about the phasing. The new A38 roundabout is not scheduled to be built until the last phase of development which would mean 370 new homes are built and all the extra traffic using one junction onto the A38. We are not happy about that and would like to see the roundabout brought forward.”
“We’ve also discussed education provision – the plans propose that a new primary school will be ready to be used after 250 houses are built, but that raises the question about where all the children go from the first 250 homes before the new school opens? We want to know what the County Council proposes.”
And Cllr Andy Brewer added: “There is concern about the planned construction of a new roundabout to the south of the development and whether it will be built early enough. We feel it should be completed earlier in the site’s development. We do have concerns about the impact of traffic and the junction with the road. Overall, though, it appears to be a very good development with a fair mix of housing.”
Highbridge town councillor John Parkes recently told Burnham-On-Sea.com he is “very concerned” about the huge pressures on Highbridge’s infrastructure.
He’s also asked Sedgemoor District Council to “ring-fence” a £200,000 developers contribution from the Brue Farm project. “That money is for the regeneration of Highbridge town centre and I want to see the money properly secured and used only for Highbridge town centre.”
Hallam plans to start the project by building a first phase of homes comprising 49 dwellings which is currently under consideration by Sedgemoor District Council.
The mixed-use development was granted outlined planning permission in March 2013. The ‘reserved matters’ plans submitted this month provide detail about the design, appearance, landscaping, layout of the site.
Residents have until Friday April 15th, 2016 to submit their feedback on the proposals to Sedgemoor District Council. The planning application reference number is 11/16/00024.
