THE Hawkeridge Action Group have recently completed a study of available development sites within a three mile radius of the proposed industrial allocation site at Mill Lane, Hawkeridge, (which is three miles from Westbury town centre).
This study has found:
• 83 acres of available, identified and allocated industrial land, much of this being publicly marketed and some has been available for many years.
• 91,000 square feet of available industrial offices standing empty, some of it high profile.
• 189,000 square feet of warehousing standing empty and available.
• 22,000 square feet of combined warehousing and offices available.
Wiltshire Council are proposing to allocate a further 35 acres of green field land for industrial use at Mill Lane, Hawkeridge. This site is owned by development company HPH, who have speculatively tried to get its use changed for over seven years.
Wiltshire council recently stated at the Core Strategy hearings that there was no further development land available, which is why they support this new development. The Hawkeridge Action Group research indicates that 83 acres are currently identified for industrial usage and some of it is in ‘high profile’ locations.
The Draft Core Strategy also re-proposes the Westbury Eastern by-pass, and this development falls outside of the proposed new road, further distancing the development from Westbury town. The council have not presented any vision or plan of how Westbury will be developed or how it will interact with the many rural communities that adjoin it.
William Wilson of Hawkeridge Action Group said, “We can see that there is little market at the current time for more industrial development land. I cannot see why they want to take more green fields when there’s over 80 acres of land, that they haven’t started building on. These 80 acres already have all the drainage and infrastructure connected so that they can build immediately, and all of it is far more accessible than Hawkeridge.
“Wiltshire council should come up with a proper thought-out plan for Westbury instead of taking what developers hand to them. The Hawkeridge site is not suited for development: it has no services and you can see it clearly from the White Horse ridge. The site is also very historic with archaeological interest, a listed farm and most importantly it is currently an agricultural residential area.”
The Hawkeridge Action Group have adopted the slogan ‘Help Protect Hawkeridge’, and are campaigning to have this scheme stopped or moved to a more appropriate site.
The group says, “Four years ago, after the last planning application for a solar farm on the same site was withdrawn by the same developer, it was suggested by Heywood Parish Council that this area should be kept as a rural buffer to stop Westbury encroaching into rural villages. This shows that there has been much opposition to any development on this site for a long time.
“Wiltshire Council need to find an alternative site that does not affect a rural community to this extent.”
