AN abandoned housing project on the edge of Minehead could be completed by a new developer - without any affordable homes being delivered.

Stratton Land Ltd had been constructing the Exmoor Gate housing development, comprising 70 homes on the southern side of the A39 Hopcott Road in Minehead, on the fridges of the Exmoor National Park.

The developer experienced viability issues with the site, securing permission from the council in February 2025 to reduce its contribution towards a new community centre in the town.

The London-based company called in the administrators in late-May 2025, leaving the remaining homes unfinished, with Dunster councillor Marcus Kravis suggesting in September 2025 that the site should be acquired by Somerset Council to provide low-cost homes for local people.

Bridgwater Homes (Hopcott Ltd) has now applied to take over the project and finish the homes but has asked to remove the commitments to affordable housing to make this a viable proposition.

When construction ceased on site in late-2024, phase one of the new homes, comprising 35 properties, was “90 percent complete”, according to Savills estate agency, with the remaining properties in phase two being “around 10 percent through the build programme”.

Under the original Section 106 agreement with West Somerset Council, 35 percent of the homes within the site would have been affordable, the equivalent of 25 properties.

Savills associate director Victoria Button, representing the new developer, said that this planning consent was granted in “a substantially different market environment” and argued that the development could not be completed without removing this requirement.

She explained: “There has been a substantial increase in construction costs, and wider international economic pressures have contributed to a softening in sales values, further eroding feasibility.

“The development stalled following cash-flow problems experienced by the developer. The parent company subsequently went insolvent and has now entered liquidation, with the site now in the hands of the joint receivers.

“A financial viability assessment confirms that the site is now loss-making, and as such is not able to support any affordable housing.

“This assessment illustrates the financial viability of the proposed development if it was started today, and shows that a policy-compliant level of affordable housing provision would not be possible.

“Even at zero affordable housing, the viability of the scheme is marginal, with the return generated falling below the required benchmark level.”

Ms Button said that she had contacted numerous registered providers of affordable housing, who had “indicated no interest” in taking on affordable homes in this estate, due to its out-of-town location and the size of the properties.

She added: “The current development creates an eyesore in the local area and has already been subject to vandalism despite security measures in place.

“The removal of the affordable housing obligations and financial contributions therefore allows the site to be completed and would provide 70 market dwellings in Minehead that will otherwise remain unoccupied and unfinished.”

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Somerset Council is expected to make a decision on this request by the end of the summer.