MORE than 100 letters of objection have so far been submitted in response to plans to turn Wiveliscombe’s historic former Golden Hill brewery into 25 low-cost flats.

And just four people have written in support of the scheme, which is being promoted by the Somerset Co-operative Community Land Trust (SCCLT).

The trust, which works with people in housing need, took on the former Exmoor Ales site between Golden Hill and Old Brewery Road, to meet a demand in the town for one-bedroom accommodation.

The site, in Coopers Heights, had been used by different Somerset brewers for more than 150 years from the Georgian era until its closure in 2015.

Now, SCCLT wants to develop 25 one and two bedroom affordable flats over three storeys with a faÇade of nine gabled bays facing on to Old Brewery Road.

The flats would have steel-framed balconies with stairs and walkways.

Behind them, the trust also wants to build a two-storey ‘community enterprise hub’ to provide local employment opportunities.

But residents have complained that the development would spoil the iconic view across Wiveliscombe where the old brewery chimney dominating the landscape.

They also said car parking was already a problem in the town and the development would create further pressures, the access was so steep that people would find it challenging, three-storeys would be overbearing for existing nearby homes, the town’s conservation area would be spoiled, and piling work could compromise the many tunnels under the site.

They pointed to a lack of jobs in Wiveliscombe which would mean many people had to travel for work despite the town being served by just eight buses a day.

Wiveliscombe was also said to lack sufficient infrastructure such as schools and GP facilities to cope with further housing.

Nick Bishop, heritage director for agents Avalon Planning and Heritage, said buildings to be demolished on the site were not of any heritage value and their removal would not harm the conservation area or the historic value of the brewery buildings.

Mr Bishop said: “The main block and rear elevation create a more intimate space at the heart of the application site, from which the monumentality of the brewery tower can be enjoyed.

“The height and scale of the proposed scheme responds appropriately to that of the brewery tower and the surrounding brewery buildings.

“In height, it reaches well below the upper storeys of the brewery tower, and would be lower than the scheme that was approved in 2006.”

The brewery was founded in 1807 by William Hancock and was originally known as Hancock’s Brewery, employing half the population of Wiveliscombe at its peak and owning the majority of the 36 pubs which existed in the around the town.

Following a merger in 1927 with SW Arnold and Sons Ltd, of Taunton, and its acquisition by Usher’s Wiltshire Brewery Ltd in 1955, the brewery ceased production in 1960.

Parts of the site were subsequently used by Exmoor Ales, which was founded in 1979 as the ‘Golden Hill Brewery’.

The company remained on site until its new base opened in 2015 just a few hundred yards away in Old Brewery Road.

The proposed flats and employment hub, which will deliver 1,000 sq ft of commercial space for small businesses, will have solar panels on their roofs, surrounded by slate to blend into the local architecture.

A total of 20 car parking spaces and 30 cycle spaces will be provided on site, with access being provided from both Coopers Heights and Hauling Road.

Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) expects Wiveliscombe to deliver a significant amount of new housing in the coming decades.

Barratt Homes is currently building 94 homes on the Elworthy Place site off Sandys Moor and the council’s local plan review has identified a need for a further 80 homes on the B3227 at Croft Way.

SWT is expected to make a decision on the brewery proposals before Christmas.