A SUBSTANTIAL housing estate could be built in a small village in North Somerset as plans have been submitted to the council.

Woodstock Homes has applied for outline planning permission to build up to 27 homes and associated infrastructure in Banwell.

It is proposed that eight of the proposed homes would be made affordable, which would help with what the applicant describes as a 'chronic shortage of homes' in North Somerset.

Other benefits set out by Woodstock Homes within the design and access statement include the site's close proximity to local services, and the economic benefits associated with construction and job creation.

If plans are approved, the new estate would be situated to the south of the A371 Knightcott Road, which runs through the village of 3,251 people.

Despite the scale of the site - 4.6 acres of arable farmland - the applicant affirms that it will not be visible from any part of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Plans for the development include tree planting, view corridors, 'green infrastructure' and additional footpaths, green spaces for wildlife, and the opportunity for new street planting on the southern boundary.

The proposed access road from Knightcott Road would be lined with trees, and situated almost directly opposite the junction from the planned Banwell Bypass.

There would also be an 'arrival space' featuring a water attenuation basin and new tree planting.

It is planned that the majority of the homes would be of two-storeys, but some in lower areas around the site entrance could potentially be increased to two-and-a-half-storeys to 'assist with place-making'.

An existing Public Right of Way (PRoW) which currently runs through the proposed site from the south-west to the north-east, would be re-routed if plans are approved.

The applicant proposes that the 'not well established' footpath from Banwell High Street would be accessed from the same point, but be directed north-east to the southern boundary of the proposed site, and then travelling adjacent to the site's eastern boundary and arriving on Knightcott Road.

A proposed informal footpath would also link to the re-routed path from a second easterly point of the High Street, if plans are approved.

For more information on the proposals, search reference 24/P/0967/OUT on North Somerset Council's online planning portal.