SEVEN open-market homes could be built in Porlock as part of a scheme designed to deliver a new road and unlock a potential site for 15 affordable homes.

But the proposals put forward by Somerset County Council and Hastoe Housing Group have split the village, winning support from the parish council and individuals, but attracting more than 400 objections.

Under the plans, a new road would be built from the top of Villes Lane through to Sparkhayes Lane, blocking off the current entrance to Villes Lane by breaking through into The Meadows.

Hastoe Housing Association has applied to build 15 affordable homes off Villes Lane to the south of Healeys. However, the affordable homes are unlikely to get planning permission unless a new road is built to improve access.

In turn, Somerset County Council claims it can only afford to pay for the road by including open market housing in its plans, contrary to the planning policies of Exmoor National Park Authority.

However, the authority is able to make exceptions to the planning rules, providing there is local support for the scheme and the end benefits justify the departure from policy.

Next Tuesday, members of the authority's planning committee will be advised to give permission for both the road and the open market housing.

A separate application for 15 affordable homes from Hastoe Housing is likely to be considered at next month's committee meeting.

But opponents - who collected more than 400 signatures on a petition objecting to both developments and submitted around 30 individual letters - claim the road is not needed and fear the new houses could open the door for large-scale development and a new relief road.

They claim the field earmarked for the road would be better used for affordable housing and said access could be improved by simply removing a 15 foot section of wall.

Porlock Parish Council, however, has welcomed the proposals and accepts the link road is essential to the development of affordable homes in the village.

National park planning officers will tell the committee there is a need for 15 affordable homes in Porlock and Hastoe's application had been registered with the authority.

Officers said an independent report from the District Valuation Service had concluded the county council's figures for the cost of the road and the money needed to fund it were correct.

A report to the committee says: "Officers believe, having been party to investigations, that the provision of the open market housing is the only practical and achievable method of providing money to build the new road.

"It will be necessary to ensure that the new road is operational before any of the new housing is occupied."

The county council estimates it will cost £590,000 to build the road, excluding the historic £395,000 cost of originally acquiring the land.

The figure would be covered by selling the land with planning permission for seven open market homes for an estimated £325,000, the sale of a county council-owned property in Villes Lane for £175,000 and the use of a planning obligation from Wessex Water totalling £94,000.

The money was pledged by the water company to help ease congestion caused by lorries visiting the town's water treatment works off Villes Lane, but must be spent before May 2012.

Officers will tell the committee the design and layout of both the road and open market homes is considered acceptable and while some existing residents would suffer adversely, many more would benefit.

"The exceptional circumstances of this case and the benefits in terms of improved vehicle access, highway safety and facilitating the future provision of affordable housing are considered to be planning considerations that can be given significant weight in favour of the application.

"Officers believe that the provision of the open market housing is the only practical and achievable method of providing the money to build the new road.

"It is anticipated that an application [for affordable housing] would be presented to the November planning committee, however, that application can only be recommended for approval if the improvements to the Villes Lane/Dunster Steep junction are approved.

"Officers have come to the view that the scheme has been designed acceptably, mitigates the impact to an acceptable level on those residents most affected and that the balance of planning consideration falls in favour of approval," the report says.

The applications have also attracted objections from the Environment Agency and the Exmoor Trust and, if approved, the open market housing element will have to go to the Secretary of State for a final decision.