4.1 South Petherton is defined as a Rural Centre, with the objective of enabling the settlement to grow and expand its identified role by allowing for additional growth, the provision of additional retail premises and modest growth. Total housing requirement in the adopted Local Plan 2006-2028 was 229 dwellings. According to the AMR 2018 Table 20 indicates that total net completions and commitments as at 31st March 2018 is 280 dwellings. The AMR states that this is one of the few areas in the di

South Petherton SP1 – The development should provide pedestrian and cycling infrastructure between St Michael's Gardens and the medical centre/pharmacy. .

Policy SP1 is titled "Housing Provision South of Hospital Lane, South Petherton". The policy states that the site will provide "about 45 dwellings, including 29% affordable housing; children's informal play space; public open space". This land is under option agreement between the landowners and PHSW. A previous application for this site (ref: 14/04142/FUL) for 89 dwellings with associated open space received officer support and was presented to Committee for approval, however was refused by Me

Strategic Objective 7 refers to making efficient use of land. This is an important principle of development – land is a limited resource and is usually developed only once – and should be applied to all sites, whether allocated or coming forward on an ad hoc basis. As noted below in paragraph 5.7, this principle needs to be better applied to SP1: Housing Provision South of Hospital Lane, South Petherton.

South Petherton 5. 1 Policy SP1 is titled "Housing Provision South of Hospital Lane, South Petherton". The policy states that the site will provide "about 45 dwellings, including 29% affordable housing; children's informal play space; public open space". This land is under option agreement between the landowners and PHSW. 5.2 A previous application for this site (ref: 14/04142/FUL) for 89 dwellings with associated open space received officer support and was presented to Committee for appr