Help shape Westbury and have your say on the Neighbourhood Plan

A DRAFT Neighbourhood Plan for Westbury has been launched this month and the town council wants to hear your feedback.

Neighbourhood Plans set out planning policies within a town and gives the townspeople a chance to say which areas of the town would be acceptable for development, and which areas should be protected.

The draft plan was presented to the town council at a meeting on Monday 5th September and the 12-week consultation period is active now until the 5th December. The plan was developed by Westbury residents and town councillors, with support from Place Studio – a company that helps bring the plans to life.

Some of the key ideas include revitalising the Market Place, improving the image and functioning of the High Street, the development of a Westbury arts and performance venue, strengthening the connection between the railway and town centre, preserving and enhancing Westbury Leigh as a distinct area of local heritage, and protecting a number of green spaces from development around the town.

Two areas have also been proposed to be allocated for development in the draft plan: land off Bitham Road opposite Lidl for approximately 50 dwellings (30% affordable housing) and land between Mill Brook and Coach Road for approximately 40 dwellings (30% affordable housing).

Speaking about the plan at the meeting of the town council, cllr Mike Sutton said, “It’s intrinsic to the future of Westbury that we do have a say and this plan gives us a voice. The reason why Westbury is being targeted by developers, yet again, is the failure of Wiltshire Council to come up with another five-year housing land supply, which leaves us vulnerable to developers.

“You may remember we lost the appeal against Sandhole Lane, with the inspector ruling that he sympathised with the town, but as Wiltshire doesn’t have that five-year plan in place, he had to side with the applicant.”

If Westbury’s Neighbourhood Plan is accepted and approved, it would give the town more protection from overdevelopment as it has legal weight. Wiltshire’s housing numbers are set nationally, and as Wiltshire Council cannot currently demonstrate that they have a five-year housing land supply, towns like Westbury with large open spaces can be targeted by developers.

The town council received a presentation at the meeting by Kate Knight, Westbury resident and chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee, who gave an explanation of the plans and an insight into what the steering group has been working on for the past three years.

The plan is currently undergoing a 12-week public consultation period, and it will go back to the steering group to make any amendments, before being looked at by an independent examiner. If this passes the tests it will go back to the public and it must receive more than 50% support before it can be accepted.

You can access the feedback story here: https://bit.ly/3Bdq3LS. There will also be a physical consultation event at the upcoming Chilli Fest.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks from now until 5th December 2022. If you wish to make any comments on the plan, the feedback survey needs to be completed and returned to the town council by midnight on 5th December 2022.

If you have any questions, or wish to get a hard copy of this questionnaire, you can email neighbourhoodplan@westburytowncouncil.gov.uk, write to Westbury Town Council at The Laverton, Bratton Road, Westbury Wiltshire BA13 3EN.