South Somerset District Council appointed Matrix Partnership and URBED to prepare a masterplan for an exemplary urban village extension to the south of Yeovil. The project drew on European best practice to provide evidence as to how ‘eco’ principles could be put into effect in new communities.

Yeovil is in many ways a paradox. Though located in the heart of the countryside, it grew rapidly in the 20th century as an industrial as well as market town. It is on the South Eastern edge of Somerset, close to an attractive part of Dorset, with the historic town of Sherborne only five miles away. The town is quite well connected with larger cities. It once had five railway stations, reflecting its role as a sub-regional meeting point, three of which were closed in the 1960s. It has a relatively high level of containment, with some three quarters of the residents also working in the town.

The project identified a range of comparable places that could provide inspiration for a ‘step change’.  Short case studies drawing out lessons from experience in smaller industrial towns were utilised, such as Stroud and Street, and also urban extensions in new towns such as Harlow and Telford that like Yeovil grew rapidly in the 20th century. A masterplan was prepared along with design guidelines and a regulating plan to control the form of development and as a mechanism for delivery.