A Brief Overview of the 18-Year Planning History of Foxes Run
For over 18 years, proposals to develop housing at the Foxes Run site in Castle Cary have faced repeated challenges. The principle issue has never been housing itself, but the safety and suitability of the proposed access arrangements, particularly the use of Mill Lane.
Since the late 1980s, planning policy has consistently recognised Mill Lane as a narrow residential lane intended to remain a cul-de-sac. When nearby developments were approved in the early 1990s, conditions were imposed specifically to prevent access through Mill Lane due to highway safety concerns at the Station Road junction.
Multiple planning applications for Foxes Run, submitted between 2008 and 2016, were refused on similar grounds, with Planning Inspectors repeatedly identifying access, traffic movement, and pedestrian safety as critical issues. Where approval was eventually granted at appeal in 2019, it was only on the basis that a one-way Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) was secured, confirming that unrestricted two-way traffic was considered unsafe.
Subsequent attempts to implement a TRO were unsuccessful, and in 2026 an appeal decision removed the requirement for the TRO altogether. This marked a significant departure from earlier findings and has prompted ongoing concern from residents, leading to the current Judicial Review.
In summary, the long planning history of Foxes Run reflects persistent and unresolved access and safety concerns, rather than opposition to development in principle.
