Homes for Good
Curo has permission to build 54 new homes, including 30% affordable housing, on land at Underhill Farm, in Midsomer Norton.
Planning approval for the homes was originally granted by Somerset Council, but access arrangements required separate consent from B&NES Council. Following their refusal, the case was referred to the Planning Inspectorate, which has now granted the appeal.
The site is located on the western edge of Midsomer Norton, between Underhill Farm to the west and Orchard Vale to the east. Underhill Wood borders the site to the north and the Woodside estate is situated to the south.
The development will see 54 new homes for sale and rent. 30% of the new homes would be affordable housing: 13 homes would be let at social rent and the remainder 3 homes would be sold through the part rent/part buy Shared Ownership scheme.
Homes at Underhill Farm will be a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments and 2- to 4-bedroom houses.
Access to the site will require the demolition of two existing properties - owned by Curo. The residents living in the two Curo homes have been consulted and will be fully supported to move to a new home. The support package includes moving costs and a ‘home loss’ payment.
These properties will be replaced with two larger, high-quality homes, which will be allocated to Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES) for social housing. The replacement homes will be significantly larger than those demolished (an additional 95 sqm per home) and built to modern standards. Curo has also committed to creating an additional two homes (bringing the total to four) though this is contingent upon grant funding availability.
The homes will include air source heat pumps and solar panels while Curo plans to improve the biodiversity increase by 10% through on-site enhancements and a dedicated biodiversity improvement scheme.
In addition to delivering 54 high-quality homes, the plans include significant financial contributions to the strategic cycleway to the Somer Valley Enterprise Zone and for play equipment and open space improvements at Greenacres Recreation Ground. New pedestrian crossings and bus stop improvements will ensure that the new community integrates with the existing fabric of Midsomer Norton.
On Tuesday 22 March 2022 we hosted a public exhibition at the Orchard Community Hall in Midsomer Norton, to showcase our development proposals for land at Underhill Farm. Our public consultation continued online, with local people being able to give us their views on the proposals via this page until 12 April.
You can still see the plans by clicking on the link below.
Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha, chats to Somer Valley FM about our proposals to build 58 new homes, including 30% affordable housing, on land at Underhill Farm, in Midsomer Norton.
Housing association and housebuilder Curo is proposing to build 58 new homes, including 30% affordable housing, on the land between Underhill Farm and Orchard Vale in Midsomer Norton. A public exhibition of the development plans will take place on Tuesday 22 March at the Orchard Community Hall (BA3 2RB).
