Highway depot to cost £37million at former Christie Miller site

MELKSHAM’S former Christie Miller site and golf course, has had plans confirmed as a central area strategic depot for Wiltshire Council, with a spend of £37million on the project. Wiltshire Council had earlier given temporary planning permission for work to begin at the site. It is the first phase of a wider strategy, with depots also planned for the north and south of the county.

The former Christie Miller Sports Centre closed in October 2018 when Wiltshire Council decided it would not spend £1million needed to make the building safe for use. Its closure sent shockwaves through the community, due to the many groups and activities that were held there. Wiltshire Council was in the process of planning a new sports complex, Melksham Community Campus, which was planned to be opened in 2014, but delays resulted in a 2022 opening.

Following the closure of the Christie Miller centre in 2018, Wiltshire Council said the site was ‘surplus’. Local leaders said they feared the site would remain empty for years, but the council said it was considering future uses for the site. In 2021, Wiltshire Council invited bids for the freehold of the site, which included a £50million leisure park from the owner of Boomerang Family Play Centre and the Bounce House in Bowerhill Industrial Park, Gary Cooke.

Wiltshire Council approved its plans to demolish the building in 2021, saying that the process would be problematic because of its roof, electrics and asbestos. Demolition work began in May 2022, but proved more problematic when the council was reported for removing nests and chicks belonging to birds of ‘conservation concern.’

In April 2023, Wiltshire Council again came under fire for allowing their contractors to occupy the site, now being used as a highway depot for Wiltshire Council, prior to planning permission being granted. It was understood that Milestone Infrastructure, who took on the highways maintenance contract from 1st April 2023, did not have a suitable site in place before the start of their contract with Wiltshire Council, so were allowed to move onto the former Christie Miller site.

At the end of last year, Wiltshire Council approved its depot, saying that it will be part of the council’s wider depot strategy.

Following the meeting, leader of the council, cllr Richard Clewer, said, “Depot strategies may not sound particularly thrilling but it’s about making sure we’ve got the flexibility with the sites that we need for delivering our waste contracts, our highways contracts and making sure that we’ve got suitable facilities in the right places of the county.

“It’s a huge step forward, it’s something, I must admit, I wish we had done a long while ago.”

The plans include the installation of modular buildings for an office block, portacabins for operative welfare, works vehicle parking, material storage, external lighting and car parking.

Bowerhill resident, Phill Chipper, who has criticised Wiltshire Council’s plans said, “Maybe Wiltshire Council hope [the depot] won’t be noticed amongst the ocean of housing that is/will continue to engulf Melksham/Chippenham/etc, as they push to swamp the northern Wiltshire communities, whilst sparing the southern part of the county, despite it having superior facilities like a large hospital.”