OUTLINE planning permission was granted yesterday (Thursday) for farm machinery manufacturer Gliddons to build ten houses on their tractor display site in Bank Street, Williton.

The development, yards from the future Magna housing delopment, will see five terraced houses constructed along Bank Street and another five facing Bridge Street.

Gliddons previous applied for 12 flats with parking spaces to be erected but this was thrown out of the council chamber in 1989.

At West Somerset district planning committee meeting this week, members were extremely concerned at the proposed entrance for the site.

The applicant has submitted sketches which show how the access point next NatWest will be moved ten metres away from the bank.

The nearby roundabout was described as "very dangerous" and it was said that vehicles would have difficulty in stopping after pulling onto Bank Street.

Although outline permission was given the green light, a letter will be sent to Gliddons to see if the company can come up with an alternative entrance.

Ward member Cllr Hugh Davies said the photographs the planning committee was shown did not highlight the "true horror" of the proposed entrance.

He said: "Please consider that this corner is very dangerous and I think access coming onto the main road is ludicrous."

Cllr Keith Turpin said: "I think Gliddons is listening to the story of Noddy on the highways. If they suggest what they mention to you as being fact, then they are very very sadly lacking.

"Vehicles coming off the roundabout are going to be busy looking one way and one way only and that is to the right. It asking for trouble for the entrance to be coming out at that point.

"We have to be careful because once someone gets a highway accepted, their usual caper is to wash their hands of it and say it's dangerous junction but there's nothing that can be done. Let's not give them them the chance."

Planning officer John Gibbs said: "The advantage in moving the entrance further from the roundabout is that the motorists' visibility will be improved.

"Drivers could be moving faster along Bank Street but they will not have reached their maximum speed."

Williton ward members were in favour of the development saying that the houses would be a visual improvement on the tractor site.

Cllr Jean Tillotson said she felt there would be less traffic accessing the ten houses than the number of vehicles using the area at the present time.

Cllr Tillotson, who is clerk to Williton Parish Council, questioned the planning officer's report which said the homes would be in keeping with the village.

"What is considered to be in keeping with the rest of Williton? We have houses that are 100, 150 and 200 years old."

She told the meeting that the parish council had no objections to the scheme but would defer judgement until members had seen detailed drawings.

Gliddons' initial plans show that the land would be excavated to allow for the ten homes, which would have slate roofs and a mixture of natural stone and rendered walls, to be built at road level.

They would be of similar design and materials to the bank and the old St Peter's School, which is now used as Magna West Somerset's offices.

A 90cm stone wall would surround the homes on Bank Street and Bridge Street with no pedestrian access onto the road.

The district council received an objection from the Avon and Somerset Constabulary's crime prevention unit objecting to the loss of natural surveillance to the communal parking area to the rear of the houses.

There were also fears voiced by the police concerning the security risk to two of the terraced houses with the rear access.

A number of letters were also sent to the council from nearby residents who said the density of the homes was too high, the access road was dangerous and the design was too imposing on the street scene and "inappropriate for this important aspect of the town".

Cllr John Nethercott said he did not like the design of the houses and said he would have preferred to have seen some shop fronts.

"I know it is outline planning permission and these may not be the final plans, but Gliddons should try to improve the entrance.

"I am hoping that they could have discussions in the future with Magna to see if they could negotiate another entrance."

Council chairman Cllr Viv Brewer told the committee: "Speaking as a person who uses the access road as it stands next to the bank, I know what a hazard it can be.

"It is very close to the roundabout and is very dangerous, so moving it away would be beneficial.

"As for the development, this is a brown field site and as a council we are being encouraged to build on them."