Appeal lodged for Bitham Park homes

AN APPEAL has been launched against the decision refusing a housing estate to be built on land by Bitham Park.

Wiltshire Council refused to grant planning permission for the 300-home plan earlier this year, but allowed 220 to be built across the road at The Mead.

The application for Bitham Park was deemed unsuitable because it stretches outside of Westbury’s settlement boundary – Wiltshire Council’s definition of the edge of the town.

There were also concerns that the homes would produce too much traffic on nearby roads, and existing residents were worried that Westbury couldn’t cope with the extra people.

The appeal, lodged on behalf of Robert Hitchins Ltd on Tuesday 18th August, argues that although the site is not within Westbury’s current settlement boundary, the boundary is out of date as it does not include enough space to meet the town’s housing quota for the next five years.

In line with Wiltshire Council’s Core Strategy (Policy 32), over 750 new homes are expected to be completed in Westbury by 2026.

The developers also argued that access had been designed so that traffic flow would not be impeded, and that the estate would not harm the character of the landscape because the area is near urban development already.

To view the full application and appeal search 14/09262/OUT in the planning search at www.wiltshire.gov.uk