A PLANNING inquiry into a controversial application to build 220 new homes in Ilminster has started this week.

The inquiry officially started on Tuesday and it is expected to last eight days.

The application made by C G Fry & Son and Dillington Estate for land in Shudrick Valley has been proposed and rejected a number of times over the past few years.

The application was made in June 2014 and last rejected in May of this year.

An appeal was lodged by C G Fry & Son and Dillington Estate on July 11.

A Save Shudrick Valley Group (SSVG) spokesman said: “We will be represented at the planning inquiry, which is expected to last eight days, and believe the appeal will be rejected by the inspector.”

The application consists of the demolition of existing farm buildings, the development of up to 220 dwellings, creation of vehicular access from Shudrick Lane and Townsend/Long Orchard Hill, public open space and associated landscaping and engineering works.

The council’s reasons for refusal include the “scale and location is contrary to the council’s local plan housing strategy and its strategy for growth for Ilminster” and “insufficient information has been submitted to the local planning authority to demonstrate that the development is acceptable in terms of traffic impact and highway safety” and it “would have an adverse impact upon the heritage assets within the locality”.

A spokesman for C G Fry and Son said the firm “did not wish to comment ahead of the public inquiry”.