A burial site underneath land earmarked for development in Yeovil could bring the risk of deadly disease contamination, according to local councils.
A housing estate featuring 765 homes is planned to be built on land at the outskirts of the town.
The redevelopment plans, to the north of Yeovil at Upper Mudford, also include a 65 bed care home, shops, a health centre and a new primary school.
A decision is expected to be made on the applications "in the coming months", according to a South Somerset District Council (SSDC) spokesman.
However, two local parish councils are standing against the proposals on the grounds that there could be a risk of anthrax contamination at the 49 hectare site.
Anthrax is a life-threatening infectious disease that normally affects animals, but can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or their products.
The earmarked site has previously been used by tanneries in Yeovil to bury cattle carcasses.
Citing a report from Public Health England, the parish councils say that anthrax testing done at the site so far has been insufficient.
Solicitor Richard Buxton has written to SSDC on behalf of Queen Thorn Parish Council and Mudford Parish Council to make their concerns clear.
A letter reads: "Recently, Land Quality Management received a copy of a letter from Public Health England which confirms that the Anthrax testing regime used to date was inadequate and proposed future sampling needs to be done differently with more testing holes at different depths.
"The councils' duty is to require the further investigations to be carried out before it grants consent."
The vice chairman of Mudford Parish Council, Tony Cavalier, has previously described the choice to potentially build on the land as "ludicrous".
He said: “We can’t have the council building homes willy-nilly and putting lives at risk, they need to wake up and smell the coffee."
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