WITH a number of housing estates in various stages of planning and development across the town, local people are becoming more concerned about whether Westbury can sustain the planned population increase.
Building work is well under way now at the new development by The Mead, and in the coming months, Wiltshire Council is expected to decide whether to allow another three major developments – up to 505 homes – to go ahead.
Permission is being sought to build housing on land near The Ham, on the site of the former hospital, and next to Station Road. An application to build a further 300 homes near Bitham Park, which was rejected by Wiltshire Council, has gone to appeal and will now be decided by a government inspector.
All of the above proposals have attracted letters from local residents expressing concern about the strain a bigger population will put on the local infrastructure including school places, GP and dentists’ surgeries, local shops and roads.
Mayor of Westbury cllr David Bradshaw told White Horse News, “Myself and the town council are concerned by the continued development of Westbury. The town’s infrastructure is getting near to breaking point.
“The council has no power to stop these developments; we can only ask the companies to do something for us and contribute to the town. We would like to see major investment in Westbury’s infrastructure and we’re not seeing it at the moment.
“The health centre is struggling to get doctors and dentists are overstretched – more people moving to the town is going to make that worse. One thing we can do to help the town is to use local shops. Westbury has a great range of independent shops and if they are seen to be successful, it will attract more investment into the town. Businesses won’t move to Westbury if they’re not going to make money.”
Local woman Michele Cleaver recently wrote a letter to White Horse News entitled ‘Developing Westbury to Ruin?’ saying it’s time to say no to further housing development.
Michele said, “Not so many years ago Westbury used to be a country town where people wanted to live for that reason – it was quiet, attractive and unassuming and the infrastructure was sufficient to support it.
“Now it’s a sprawling hotch-potch of ribbon development with infill and developers packing people in like sardines, with vehicles parked on top of each other and no space to move.
“It’s time to say no to any further housing development in Westbury. We have already lost so much and need the councils to preserve the little bit of decent living environment that remains for the people of Westbury who care about where they live.”
In the 2011 census Westbury had 8,425 dwellings and a population of 19,581. In its core strategy published last year, Wiltshire Council announced a need to build a further 826 homes in the town between 2015 and 2026. 674 had already been built between 2006 and 2014.
Employment opportunities are expected to be boosted by the new Hawke Ridge Business Park – a 35-acre commercial estate which is under construction near the West Wilts Trading Estate.
Health services in particular came under the spotlight last year after plans to demolish the hospital buildings were revealed. Residents stressed that they felt Westbury needed more healthcare facilities and that the White Horse Health Centre could not support the town’s growing population. The NHS refuted this claim and said the health centre was ‘future proofed’ to cater to 30,000 patients.
One resident commenting on the planning application for the hospital site said, “The doctors’ surgery is a nightmare to get an appointment already, and the secondary school is in no way capable of sustaining the likely demand of this development and those already agreed or those proposed!
“How about the town of Westbury develops the resources it needs to sustain further housing first and when this is complete, invest in housing.”
Wiltshire Council’s Core Strategy acknowledges the biased development in the town and says, “The town has seen significant housing development in the past which has not been matched by an appropriate provision of services, facilities and new jobs.”
Looking forward
Local resident, long-standing town councillor and chair of the highways, planning and development committee, Ian Cunningham, shares people’s concerns but believes embracing development would have, and will be in future, the best way to improve the town.
Speaking on his personal views, cllr Cunningham said, “I am not against development in the town. I feel that Westbury already lost its small market town character when Leigh Park was built, and the history of piecemeal additions without a proper overall plan have not delivered much benefit to the town as a whole.
“Historically, people have largely been against development; this was understandable but it has had an unfortunate effect in that by not engaging with the development to negotiate a better deal, we simply failed to stop most of it and got almost nothing in return.”
Westbury does not have a neighbourhood plan – a town council-led document which could give local people a say in where houses are built, and could lead to developers having to hand over more money when building in the area.
Cllr Cunningham believes part of the reason Westbury doesn’t have one is the time, effort and expense it would take to produce, and a difficulty in engaging residents in politics.
He continues, “I think Westbury will see more piecemeal development, breaking of our settlement boundary, and more small separated developments that will not do much to enhance the town as a whole; we will object but nothing will happen.
“What should happen is that we should only allow developments that are integral to, and produce benefits for the town.
“I think we need jobs for graduates in the town. Better paid jobs attract spending to the housing stock and people who are more inclined and able to demand a better deal. I’d like to see more offices and more development and research businesses. Property is cheap in Westbury so we should promote our rail connections, particularly to businesses around Bath and encourage them to base offices here.
“We need a grand vision for the town that we recognise we won’t actually get but which will guide and inform those who make decisions for us. 50% of a good plan would be better than 100% of a bad one, or no plan at all.”
Wiltshire Council says that by 2026 Westbury can expect to see housing growth slowed and a focus moved on to improving infrastructure, services, and the town centre. It also has notes to consider tackling traffic problems on the A350, the possibility of expanding Matravers or building another secondary school, and improving public transport links around the town.
