South Somerset District Council is delighted that Yeovil’s largest urban extension to the north of Thorne Lane will benefit from £1.9m of Government Funding under the first wave of the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF).
This funding has specifically been allocated to part-fund the central section of a distributor road that will link the A37 as it enters Yeovil across the north of the town, to the Western Corridor via Western Avenue. Bids to the fund were highly competitive as this grant funding for new infrastructure is intended to unlock new homes in the areas of greatest housing demand.
The Brimsmore development is Yeovil’s largest urban extension with over 800 homes planned on the site alongside a full range of facilities. The site started at the Western end of Thorne Lane and is being steadily built out around the first section of the link road. Brimsmore is not only designed to cater for the needs of the residents within the scheme but its facilities will also help to meet the needs of those living to the south in the area around Larkhill Road.
The central section of link road will be built in a Boulevard style, with a line of majestic London plane trees down a central reservation. This part of the road will enable early access to the village centre which is orientated around the old Roman Road from Vagg Hill, the area earmarked for a new Primary School, community hall, doctor’s surgery and local shopping facilities. Access will also be provided to parts of the site where much needed affordable housing will be built.
When fully complete, the link road will enable through traffic to be removed from most of Thorne Lane, which will be closed at its eastern end. The aspiration is to complete the link road across its entire length as early as finances will allow and with HIF funding now secured for some 20% of the total cost, it makes the whole scheme financially viable much earlier than would have otherwise have been the case.
Councillor Ric Pallister, Leader of South Somerset District Council said, “I am absolutely delighted with this award and of the recognition of the Brimsmore development as being of outstanding quality. Completing this link road will make a massive difference to those living on Thorne Lane as well as providing the right quality of distributor road that will link to the Lufton business area. Despite two new primary schools in Yeovil completing this year, building out the new Brimsmore Primary School early is a priority for the town as demand for school places continues to grow even without new development. I cannot wait to see the scheme’s village centre begin to emerge from a plan on paper to a stunning and tangible community heart. The award has only been possible because of an extraordinary amount of hard work by John Bishop’s team alongside District Council officers who worked late into the night to produce a professional bid in a very short period of time and I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.”
John Bishop, manager of Yeovil based developers, Charles Bishop Limited, who work in partnership with Wyatt Homes on the Brimsmore development added, “Seeing the homes at Brimsmore starting to materialise ‘on the ground’ after so many years in the planning stage is so rewarding for both myself and for the entire team involved with the project. The chance now to bring forward the construction of the central section of the link road and open up the area for the new school, shops and other community facilities is a great opportunity and we are grateful to the HIF for all the support they have given the scheme.”
The Brimsmore development was recognised by the Government’s Agency known as Homes England, as a flagship development of extremely high quality design, layout and build quality; a testament to the vision of the project managers Charles Bishop Ltd and the workmanship of Wyatt Homes the scheme’s housebuilder.