SCORES of Axbridge residents are concerned about the impact a new development in Moorland Street will have on the town.

SCORES of Axbridge residents are concerned about the impact a new development in Moorland Street will have on the town.

Half a dozen people turned up to an Axbridge Town Council meeting to voice their fears.

Sedgemoor District Council granted Chewey Homes permission to build the three storey building with four dwellings and 10 flats on the street in 2004 despite 11 letters of objection from residents and opposition from Axbridge Town Council.

Now residents are worried about the extra traffic, parking, added pressure on the sewer system and the height of the new building.

Clare Horackova, who lives next door to the development, said: “We’re really concerned about the height of the development. It totally overshadows our house and all the buildings next to it. It’s almost double the height.

“It’s the only building you can see from halfway across The Furlong.

“It’s a worrying precedent. If all of us in the area applied to put a third storey onto our houses it would change the face of Axbridge significantly.”

Clare said her study has been flooded by rainwater running off the top of the development. The drains in the street have also flooded after the heavy rainfall and residents fear the problem will get worse when people move into the new properties.

Axbridge town councillor Barry Hamblin told residents: “All the points you’ve raised were put forward as objections when the application came up and we are utterly in agreement. We objected to the construction but Sedgemoor District Council refused to hold a site meeting.”

The council advised residents to write to the Local Government Ombudsman to ask why the application was granted despite local opposition. The council is also hoping to invite an officer from Sedgemoor District Council to the site to prevent similar developments in the future and to check the building work is going to plan.