AMBITIOUS plans to convert Washford Mill into a development of 25 homes look set to fall foul of county highways chiefs. Mill owners Badcock and Evered hope to secure permission from West Somerset Council's planning committee to forge ahead with the development. But councillors are being advised to turn down the application when they meet next Thursday. Although willing to enter into legal agreements to secure six dwellings within the site as affordable homes and to contribute a further £2,000 per home towards community facilities, planning officers will tell the committee the company had not formally agreed or signed any agreements. But more importantly, "a fundamental objection" has been lodged by county highways. Officers will tell councillors a highways officer had verbally confirmed a "strong, unequivocal objection" to the scheme on a range of issues. These included the need to protect a possible bypass route, sustainability, poor design of a pedestrian route and the lack of a formal pedestrian crossing to the main road. In addition, a further 27 letters of objection had been received from opponents together with comments from Washford Residents' Group. Concerns ranged from the development detracting from nearby Cleeve Abbey and the impact on a possible bypass route to increased traffic congestion and the dangers posed to pedestrians accessing the A39. Washford Parish Council had also unanimously rejected the proposal, criticising a lack of energy conservation ideas, poor design, congestion, an inadequate pedestrian link and claiming the developer's planning statement contained "substantial distortion". The committee will be told told Badcock and Evered plan to create the 25 new homes through a mixture of conversion and new build. There would be two separate elements on the north side of the historic mill buildings, with a row of four, three-storey houses, each with a ground floor workspace area. A further five two-storey, two bedroom homes and one single-storey one bedroom home would be arranged around an L-shaped terrace, principally fronting on to Abbey Road. Vehicular access to the site would remain the same, while there would be on-site parking for 38 cars and a new pedestrian link created from the car park at the rear of the development to the A39.
