Opposition to plans for 650 new houses in Melksham East

Controversial plans for 650 new houses in Melksham East have come under fire from local residents who say the town doesn’t have the infrastructure for so many new houses and that the development would cause damage to the environment and wildlife and increase traffic problems.

The application, for 650 dwellings on land south of Blackmore Farm, has been submitted to Wiltshire Council by Gleeson Land. Over 30 written objections have already been received by the council and some residents are encouraging others to have their say by commenting on the Wiltshire Council planning website.

One resident commented, “Please stop building so many new homes in Melksham. We don’t have the infrastructure for it, you’re destroying animals’ homes purely out of greed. The roads are horrendous, the amount of flooding this winter should serve as a warning that some of the green areas are needed for the water to go to. We don’t have enough doctors [surgeries]; we don’t have enough dentists.”

Another added, “The local amenities such as GP/dentists needs addressing before any more housing should be considered,” while another said, “There is also a complete disregard to wildlife, the fields are inhabited by groups of breeding deer, rabbits, owls, foxes, badgers, bats and many other types of wildlife species. There are also beehives located in the back fields. If anyone bothered to walk over there you would see how established the area is.”

Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for environment and climate change has also strongly objected to the plans.

“The proposals do not answer the strategic needs of the Melksham Neighbourhood Plan area,” he said. “This is another example of piecemeal and speculative development…The development is in the open countryside, outside the settlement boundary of Melksham and Bowerhill, isolated and therefore unsustainable.”

He also highlights a lack of connectivity with the surrounding area and to Eastern Way, highway safety concerns and says the plan is not part of any housing allocation in the current Melksham Neighbourhood Plan.

Along with houses, the application also includes land for a primary school, land for a mixed-used hub and open space.

But Nick Holder says the proposals for a ‘single form entry primary school’ do not meet the Wiltshire Council criteria of two form entry school provision. He said, “I have discussed the issue of local schools with the education team and they cannot see any benefit in land being set aside for a school, so whilst this has been promised by the developer, it is likely the land they allocate for the proposed school, will eventually revert to additional housing land.”

• The deadline for comments to be submitted on the application is 21st April.

Planning application details and comments about the application can be found on Wiltshire Council’s planning application website by searching the following code, PL/2023/01949.

The website can be found here, https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z000019rkioAAA/pl202301949?tabset-8903c=3

Wiltshire Council currently does not have a five-year land supply in place, which includes the number of homes the council is expected deliver over the next five years. This means the council has reduced power to refuse planning applications in unsuitable areas.