* Check / confirm the Martock population.

The facilities are acceptable - but Symphony Healthcare has been unable to provide as much as 50% of the required GPs through either recruitment or use of locals. This paragraph should also be included under South Petherton since the same Medical Practice (which operates two surgeries) serves both Martock and South Petherton (a total of over 11000 patients).

The importance of health facilities and shops as priorities for the local community reflect the fact that historic growth in the population has already exceeded the capacity of the local medical practice, village infrastructure and transport provisions.

* A further increase of 210 new dwellings in the village is not considered sustainable given the current status of the medical practice and road traffic. It is noted that Policy SSl iii is that provision for development will be made that meets l ocal housing need. There is no significant housing need for Martock.

* Development at the western edge of Martock would exacerbate existing problems with the traffic and congestion through Martock and Ash. All the identified developments would need to exit (via Coat Road) to North Street which already suffers from congestion due to the level of traffic (including through traffic) with numerous pinch points due to extensive street parking.

* An application for the development of 120 houses on this site was refused by the SSDC Regulations Committee in July 2019 - the reasons for the refusal (impact on already overstretched GPs, impact on traffic through Martock and Ash, adequacy of parking and concerns over drainage) also apply to the sites identified at para 8.44 and 8.46.

1. General Comments * Has the feasibility of achieving the overall target for new dwellings in South Somerset been confirmed? Has it been confirmed that this target can be achieved without unduly impacting healthcare provisions, unemployment rates, etc? * The draft update to the SSDC Local Plan has been prepared while the Martock Neighbourhood Plan is still undergoingits pre-submission consultation - the update to the SSDC Local Plan should be deferred until the Martock Neighbourhood Plan has

* The identified site is crossed by part of a public footpath. The site could only be accessed by (and is therefore dependent on) a development as described at 8.45 (which has been refused approval). There are significant drainage issues affecting this region of Hills Lane.

Given the plan does not seem to take any account of adequacy of current levels of employment and transport within Rural Centres or Market Towns, then the rationale for treating Rural Settlements differently is not justified. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for rural settlements (as well as Rural Centres and Market Towns) to consider the availability of suitable means of commuting to where employment is available without adversely impacting existing settlements.

* Priority must be given to increasing the quantity and quality of jobs within the parish before further increasing the population.