PLANS to build 41 houses at the edge of Westbury’s border with Bratton have once again been objected to by Westbury Town Council.
The land off Bratton Road has been subject to many planning applications since 2016 as revised plans have been repeatedly rejected by Wiltshire Council with one application to build 47 houses in the area taken to appeal.
The main changes to the recently revised plans for 41 new houses is the provision of a re-sited priority junction from Bratton Road which the developer says will provide a suitable means of access for the whole allocation of houses.
Town councillors previously said that the planned site is unsuitable in its location and that there were concerns over developing on one of the last remaining green spaces at the edge of town. There were further concerns that the proposed entry/exit point to the development is too close to the junction of Bratton Road (an area that sees regular speeding traffic) and it is too close to the busy junction with Bitham Park.
Councillors discussed the plans at a meeting of the highways, planning and development committee on Monday 18th March, with councillors once again agreeing to object to the plans.
Speaking at the meeting, cllr Gordon King said, “I would like to propose that Westbury Town Council objects to this application on the grounds that the proposed development site is wholly outside the designated limits for development.”
Cllr Philip Harcourt added, “My opinion is that this is a poor development in the wrong place.”
Reaction from local people
One comment on the plans on Wiltshire Council’s planning public register reads, “Here we go again! Has [Wiltshire Council] planning deliberately dragged out the decision date yet again, just so that the applicant can make yet more changes to try and gain acceptance?”
Another reads, “This has been refused so many times previously, with little change. Sad to think we would lose green belt area again for the greed of a few people. Are we to just become a suburb of other towns?”
To view the plans in full, search PL/2022/06046 on Wiltshire Council’s planning public register.
