Plans to build 67 houses on land south of Sandhole Lane in Westbury Leigh have been criticised once again by town councillors who say the plans should be re-evaluated by the developer. They have highlighted the density of the site, as well as issues relating to drainage and the lack of a construction management plan.
The plans were initially turned down by Wiltshire Council in 2021, but were granted planning approval on appeal in February 2022 as a result of Wiltshire Council not having a five-year housing land supply. The developer, Wain Homes, has been asked to revise their plans after all of the consultees involved with the application had concerns, and the application came back to Westbury Town Council for councillors to comment on.
Councillors have been vocal in their objections to the plans and have previously criticised the design of the houses, saying that it should mirror the “natural beauty” of the site, which has a large ecosystem and attracts a lot of wildlife.
At an extraordinary meeting of Westbury Town Council on Monday 26th June, cllr Gordon King raised more concerns that the plans do not make good use of the land and suggested the developer should sacrifice some open land in their plans to improve the housing density at the site.
“This is a sensitive and delicate piece of land that no wise man would develop on. Their plan as it stands is inadequate,” said cllr King. “The plans say that the developers are building on 5.2 hectares of land, but they have actually only proposed to build on 1.9 hectares, with plans to use the rest of the land as open space and allotments.
“This makes the design look quite squashed; the houses are unnecessarily small and the roads are not wide enough for bin lorries. I would say to Wiltshire Council that we are concerned that the housing density of 36 units per hectare is not right for the 1.9 hectares they have designated, and we should recommend that they sacrifice some of the open space land to make a better settlement for the people who live there and nearby.
“The gardens are also far too small – if they were the right size, they would not be offering allotments as part of their plans. We should ask them to move the estate to the back of the development and bring the public open space forward.”
Cllr Philip Harcourt added, “The developers have pushed all the open space to the south of the houses which in turn has created an exclusive park land, but it would make more sense to use some of that land to reduce the density, and to move that area to the top of the development so it can be used by neighbours who will be the ones who suffer during the construction of the site.”
Development doesn’t meet the needs of Westbury and lack of wildlife conservations
Westbury Mayor, cllr Mike Sutton, says that developers such as Wain Homes should focus more on building one to two bed developments, as a way to combat the need for housing in the town.
He said, “The developers say they are building for need – they are not doing that. Everybody knows what the need is in Westbury – we need affordable places for local people so they can continue living locally, and this plan focusses instead on even more three and four bed houses, which doesn’t solve problems in the town.”
The land south of Sandhole is home to a vast amount of wildlife and during the initial consultation period, the developers said they would include some form of wildlife conservation, to address councillors’ concerns over how this wildlife would be affected.
Cllr Pauline Stallard added, “When the developers first came here to talk about their plans, they made certain promises about protecting the vast amount of wildlife through nature conservation at the site, but I am seeing no evidence of this, also which is a great concern.”
Construction plan and impact on nearby residents
Councillors have also pointed out that there is a lack of a construction management plan in the planning documents which they say would be a vital inclusion, as the construction of the development could negatively affect the residents living in nearby estates.
“Nowhere does the developer list their construction management plan – this plan should be delivered and consulted on in the widest possible way, so everybody who already lives in that area knows exactly what is happening,” said cllr King.
Cllr Jane Russ added, “I’m particularly aggrieved at the lack of a construction management plan as this development will take a long time to build, which means the people that already live in that area will have to deal with the pain of that construction. We should be demanding they produce some sort of strategy.”
Councillors also said that the developers’ current drainage plan for the site was the opposite of what was discussed when Wain Homes came to the town council to talk through their plans. The area is built on greensand, which is non-permeable, and cllr King raised concerns that the current drainage plan would result in a “relentless” water run-off and that the developers have not delivered a plan that would hold back or prevent the run-off through the estate and further down to Leigh Close.
You can view the plans in full by searching APP/Y3940/W/21/3275352 on the Wiltshire Council planning portal.
