THE fight against ‘opportunistic’ and ‘predatory’ large housing developments has received a boost from Melksham’s emerging Neighbourhood Plan.
Planning permission for up to 50 houses on land west of Semington Road was recently refused by Wiltshire Council – and amongst the reasons for refusal was Melksham’s ‘draft’ Neighbourhood Plan – which is nearing completion although it has yet to be formally adopted by the community.
Wiltshire Council’s acknowledgement of the ‘draft’ Neighbourhood Plan – which sets out where a community would prefer to see housing built – has given hope that it could also help put the brakes on other large housing developments that are pending a decision.
Plans for 150 houses on land situated to the south of Woodrow Road, 170 houses on land to the west of the A350, to the north of Melksham, and 240 houses on land to the south of Western Way, which have all been described as ‘unsustainable’, could be scuppered by the plan.
Chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, cllr Richard Wood, who is also the chairman of Melksham Without Parish Council, told Melksham News, “It was a very heartening judgement. The key thing is that the Neighbourhood Plan now carries so much weight it can be considered as part of planning decisions – this is a major step in preventing very unsuitable development from taking place. So we are delighted!”
Currently, Wiltshire Council’s failure to maintain a five-year land supply – which means there is an insufficient number of ‘deliverable sites’ to provide five years’ worth of housing – has been blamed for the recent onslaught of large housing plans.
But if the Neighbourhood Plan is approved by the community at its referendum on 1st July, the Melksham area will be subject to a three-year land supply.
“This will give us breathing space,” explained cllr Wood. “With the referendum coming up, residents need to know that the Neighbourhood Plan can have an effect – it can combat planning applications that the town and parish won’t want.
“We’re not against development, we just want to make it proportionate and slow enough so that the infrastructure keeps up with it.”
