Developer no longer needs to give money for school

A developer no longer needs to provide money for a school close to where it plans to build 22 homes, a council has decided.

Roger Burton's proposals for houses on Portfield Street in Langport were approved by Somerset Council in February. As part of this decision, the developer agreed to provide more than £184,000 towards Huish Episcopi Primary School.

However, the council has now said the school will have sufficient capacity until 2030, meaning the developer does not need to provide education funding.

It will still have to provide nearly £66,000 towards local leisure and youth facilities and nearly £13,000 towards the proposed expansion of Langport Surgery.

The council's education team estimates two schools in the area - Curry Rivel Primary School andHuish Episcopi Primary School - will have sufficient places until 2030 at the earliest, in part due to falling birth rates in parts of rural Somerset.

The planning committee south unanimously voted to re-approve the plans with the removal of the education funding on Tuesday.

A reserved matters application, covering the detailed design and layout of the new homes, is likely to come forward within the next 12 months, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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