WESTBURY looks set to get another 220 homes after outline planning permission was given this week by Wiltshire Council for a development on the edge of town – despite local opposition.
The site off The Mead is currently farmland, and is bounded by the A350 Trowbridge Road, the railway line, Bitham Brook and Mead ponds to the west and housing to the south.
The application by Gloucester Land had attracted local criticism and opposition ranging from traffic concerns to the scale of development, its impact on the surrounding area and the pressure on existing infrastructure.
Westbury Town Council’s Highways, Planning and Development Committee had objected to the plans, fearing the setting of a precedent of encouraging building on the edge of town, outside the housing policy limit.
The development, which will include affordable housing, will be reached via a new access off The Mead and will include play areas and open spaces.
When it was considered at the Wiltshire Council strategic planning meeting on Wednesday the development was given permission subject to the completion of a Section 106 legal agreement detailing a lengthy list of conditions. It also asked that consideration be given to the provision of an additional access and an internal loop road.
Town and Wiltshire Councillor David Jenkins has concerns about the proposed site. He said, “The decision by Wiltshire Council to approve 220 houses on land north of The Mead is of concern to me. Despite each planning application being judged by its own merits, now that the above application has been given the go-ahead others in the area will probably follow.
“Westbury, a relatively small rural town, has over the past 10-15 years experienced over-development and suffers with a fragile economy, lack of facilities, highways and infrastructure. A development of this proportion would put yet more strain on the town.
“For road safety reasons the roundabout on the A350 adjacent to the site is of particular concern to me as there will be an increase in children and families using that area, especially during the term time. Not only that, The Mead will have more congestion in traffic during the peak times despite what the Highways say. The emergency exit on to the A350 near to the railway line also needs to be addressed.
“One of the positive aspects that comes from the application is that money will be contributed to schools through the Section 106 agreement.”
Town and Wiltshire Councillor Russell Hawker said, “I feel fairly neutral towards the outline planning permission recently granted by Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee because I can see positive and negative outcomes from it.
“Although the site is outside the housing policy limit for Westbury, the fact is that Wiltshire Council identified this site as a suitable and sustainable site when the first round of Core Strategy consultations occurred in 2010. In other words, I agree that the site is suitable and if 220 houses are to be added to the already-identified house-building site allocations in Westbury, then this site is the correct site for it.
“It will be interesting to see if developers try to treat this permission on land outside the housing policy limit as a precedent to justify any other applications for permission on similar land outside the housing policy limits around Westbury until the Core Strategy is finally adopted. As you probably know, the Government is encouraging more development on ‘sustainable sites’ regardless of local policies until local authorities get their core strategies adopted.”
You can see the full details of the application and the background at http://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=145&MId=7245&Ver=4
