550-home Brue Farm development inches closer (From Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News)

550-home Brue Farm development inches closer

4:20pm Tuesday 19th March 2013 in Highbridge By Matthew Colledge

THE biggest housing development in the Burnham and Highbridge area for years is inching closer to reality.

Developer Hallam Land Management won outline planning permission in March last year to build 550 homes and a primary school at Brue Farm.

However, that was subject to the signing of a legal agreement with Sedgemoor District Council over Hallam's community contributions.

That legal document, called a section 106, has now been signed.

As well as contributing to a 210-place primary school, Hallam will also fork out £1million towards off-site affordable housing.

There will also be contributions to play/community space.

A Sedgemoor District Council spokesman said: “Discussions on the contributions have concluded on the outline planning application.

“The next step will be for a full planning application to be submitted when discussions on the appearance of the properties will take place.”

Before the project was voted on last year, several local councillors raised concerns about traffic, the number of homes proposed, and the loss of green fields.

Highbridge councillor Helen Groves told the Weekly News she remained concerned the town does not have the infrastructure to cope with so many extra houses, and said there would be a particular strain on primary school places.

She said: “I would be very concerned if the new school were not in place in the first phase of the development.

“We know that by 2016 there will be a 97-place shortfall without any development, so to put any additional strain before the school is built would be a real concern.”