THE planning application for 270 homes on the former George Ward site is to be discussed at upcoming Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council meetings.
Both councils will host meetings on Monday 5th January and both start at 7pm as they consider an application from Persimmon for 270 new homes.
The application was submitted to Wiltshire Council last month and includes space reserved for open spaces, three playing fields and a club house with parking.
The proposal has caused concern for locals who have contacted the Melksham News with their objections. Dunch Lane resident Tracey Currey said, “The 270 houses on the George Ward site is bad enough with all the traffic that this will generate going through the ridiculous set of lights servicing Asda, but now there is mention of another development in the vicinity. Also on the plans the playing fields seem to have been re-instated with the club house. I was under the impression that the rugby club had turned down this area due to flooding. Is this just a sweetener to get the plans passed then sock it to us with more houses on that site?
“I must point out I am not a nimby and whilst I do understand the need for housing I also understand that the infrastructure needs to be considered carefully, but I fear it will be build the houses and worry about it later when the surgeries, roads and schools are fit to bust if they weren’t already.”
Whilst Shaw resident Mark Ashkowski said, “I would hope many will agree the George Ward development is poorly thought out, adding hundreds of homes on a flood plain to an area with limited local facilities, such as no local GP, an over-subscribed local school at Shaw, a main road (A365) which frequently floods and no effective secondary route into Melksham.”
Melksham has seen an influx of planning applications for homes recently with over 1,000 potentially to be built across the town.
To view the proposal visit Wiltshire Council’s planning application page on their website; the application number is 14/11295/REM
