An ‘Open House’ drop-in event is to be held on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th March in the Melksham Assembly Hall, which aims to give local organisations and residents a chance to see what may be developed in the local area over the next 10 years.
The event is an opportunity for people to share their views and ideas to influence the decision makers. Residents who took part in the recent survey have already helped to identify the priority issues for future land use development in the Melksham and surrounding villages – housing, employment, health, education, transport.
Doors are open between 2.00pm and 7.00pm on Friday and from 10.00am to 2.00pm on Saturday. People are invited to drop in at any time during this period and spend as long as they like to see what is already in the pipeline and comment on these important thematic priorities.
Steering Group member Nick Westbrook said, “The Open House is not just about identifying sites for new housing – though we do have to find sites for at least 600 more houses in addition to those sites already identified.
“Equally important is safeguarding sites for developing new workplaces to help existing local businesses expand and to attract new employment opportunities to this local area. We also need an adequate network of public transport, road and rail services to meet the wish of local people to work close to where they live.
“Future development also needs to address the pressures on local GP and other health services; to meet the demands of an increasingly aging local population; to ensure that there are enough school places to educate our children, with proper facilities to prepare them with the skills needed to meet the challenges of the workplace and modern life; to expand local shopping facilities, to provide space for cultural, play, sporting and other leisure activities, and to protect our local environment. Are there any other issues that we might have forgotten?
“ It may not be immediately obvious why producing a Neighbourhood Plan is relevant to local people at this time. If we are to avoid our community being covered in concrete, we need to have robust and transparent criteria to support – or oppose – sites for future development. It is vitally important that we ensure that any future development promotes Melksham and the surrounding villages as a great place to live, to work, to play … and to visit.”
Public comments will be collated with other information being gathered to produce a community-led statutory Neighbourhood Plan. This will give the community better control over future land use development; secure additional funding for amenities and facilities in local areas; and inform developers what and where they can and cannot build within the Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council boundaries.
It will only take a few minutes to drop in to the ‘Open House’ event and have your say. Residents are asked to encourage colleagues, friends and family – of whatever age – to be part of this important community exercise.
Nick said, “We may not be able to resist meeting the government housing target for the Melksham area, but we risk losing the vital support we will need for a growing population if we simply wait for planning applications to be submitted. Then it will be too late.”
