PLANS for 50 homes on land west of Semington Road behind Townsend Farm, have been labelled as a “botch job” by Melksham Without Parish councillors.
The loss of Grade II listed agricultural land; the lack of “safe” pedestrian access to local schools and facilities; its impact on proposed plans for the Melksham canal link; and the lack of supporting infrastructure in the town, were some of the concerns raised by parish councillors.
“This is an unsustainable development,” said chair of the parish council, cllr Richard Wood, at last week’s planning committee meeting.
Melksham Town Council has also echoed the concerns of the parish council , “strongly” objecting to the plans and adding that the site is in a “geographically bad location”.
Local neighbouring residents have also raised objections to the proposal. Speaking at the parish council meeting, chair of the Townsend Farm Residents Association, Gillian Horigan, highlighted that the land in question is at risk of flooding and the developer’s flood report does not make any allowance for the drainage of flood water.
Another local resident also described the plans as “another cynical attempt at development by the back door”, and highlighted that Wiltshire Council has already exceeded its housing requirement for the 2006-2026 period.
Concern was also raised about the development’s impact on local wildlife, with one resident explaining that adders, a protected species, are known to be present in the area.
The land, which is opposite the entrance to the Melksham Mobile Home Park, has been the subject of a number of similar planning applications in previous years.
The last application in 2018 to build 108 homes, was withdrawn following objections from Melksham Without Parish Council, local residents and Melksham Town Council.
Whilst the most recent application is for 50 homes, the parish council has warned that the developers, Terra Strategic, has confirmed that if successful, they will also apply for planning permission to build more homes on the rest of the field.
At the parish council meeting, councillors also agreed that if the application was successful, they should ask the developers to revise their plans to include a play area, a circular path, and make contributions to enhancements that would benefit the community – such as supporting plans for the Melksham canal link.
The consultation is open until Friday 23rd October and a decision is expected by Friday 18th December. To view the plans and comment, visit the Wiltshire Council planning website and search using reference 20/07334/OUT – www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-applications-search
