A major Somerset development site may end up with less commercial space within it, in order to allow a care home to be constructed.

Taylor Wimpey, Vistry and LiveWest are currently constructing homes within the Orchard Grove development on the A38 Wellington Road in Taunton, which is designed to eventually provide 2,000 new homes, commercial space, a primary school and other facilities. The bulk of the commercial space will be concentrated at the western edge of the site, where a 68-bed care home to be run by the Amica Care Trust was approved in January.

But the developers have now revealed a portion of the designated employment land will have to be lost in order to enable the care home (which will create 100 new jobs) to be built. A spokesman for Boyer Planning (representing the developers’ consortium) said: “This application seeks to remove an area of employment land totalling 0.58 hectares (1.43 acres).

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“This is considered to represent a minor amendment to the approved parameter plans and through this minor amendment, the proposed development at Orchard Grove is being delivered broadly in accordance with the approved drawings. Arguably, the removal of this employment land… will have a reduced adverse landscape residual effect as the overall built form of the development will be reduced.”

The care home will comprise of 68 en-suite bedrooms across two floors, with a range of communal spaces and facilities, including a café, lounges, dining areas, spa, hair salon, multi-purpose activity rooms and quiet rooms. The care home – which would be the first new care home created in Taunton since 2009 – will be geared towards people needing specialist dementia, residential and respite care.

The new Taunton Town Council has objected to the change, stating concerns about the “repercussions on the wider development” and the risk of localised flooding in this part of the site. Trull Parish Council has also objected, arguing that the masterplan for the Orchard Grove site appears to indicate that the care home has been sited on land whose “existing use is to be retained” – meaning it should remain agricultural land to be cultivated.

Somerset Council is expected to make a decision on the proposed changes by the late-spring.

A decision will also be taken around the same time on detailed plans for the “employment zone” and the “park and bus” facility which are both earmarked for the land nearest the A38.

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