Villages speak out on plans for over 200 new houses

Representatives from Shaw, Whitley, Atworth and Seend have shared their thoughts on Wiltshire Council’s proposed plan to build over 200 new houses across the four villages.

In Wiltshire Council’s ‘emerging’ Local Plan,  which determines where and how development takes place across the county up until 2036, it has been proposed that 95 new houses be built in Shaw and Whitley; 80 new houses in Atworth; and 30 new houses in Seend. The proposal, which is under public consultation until next week, has attracted widespread criticism.

Community Action: Whitley and Shaw (CAWS)  has questioned why Whitley and Shaw have been categorised as one ‘large village’, explaining that they feel the two villages should be considered separately as ‘small villages’.

The local group has also said the two villages cannot support an allocation of 95 homes – which would be an increase of “almost 20%” on the existing number of houses – and the housing allocation should be “significantly lowered”.

Atworth Parish Council has said that they feel there is no evidence to support why the village should be allocated 80 new houses.

They describe the target  as “arbitrary” and “entirely unachievable”, calling for the target to be removed.

“It is clear that little or no thought has gone into how Atworth can be grown by 20%,” say the parish council.

The parish council say that a “realistic” target for Atworth would a single figure number of houses “at most”, highlighting that a housing needs survey in 2016 showed a requirement for 4 houses in Atworth.

Seend Parish Council has described the target of 30 houses for the village as ‘not unreasonable’, explaining that if planning applications already submitted to Wiltshire Council are approved, the target for the village will drop to 19.

Speaking to Melksham News, CAWS said, “The CAWS committee are deeply concerned about the proposal to build 95 houses in Whitey and Shaw villages and will be covering the reasons for this in a formal objection to the proposal which will also be shared with the parish council. 

“We have been working closely with our local councillor Phil Alford who is helping us to understand the planning process and encouraging us to exercise our right to respond appropriately within that procedure. 

“The timelines are too tight, meaning that the villagers don’t have the opportunity to respond fully. The documentation around the process is difficult to find and ambiguous at best in some of its content. The process also does not allow for the fact that we have a senior age demographic in the villages, so many of the residents will not be able to access the response process because they do not have the appropriate technology.

“We believe the categorisation of Shaw and Whitley as a ‘large village’ in the context of this consultation is incorrect.  They are separate villages each with their own distinct characteristics.  We are very proud of our close working relationships and shared services across the two communities but we stand against any impression that they should be considered collectively as a single large village. 

“We believe the development “constraints” around Shaw and Whitley are considerable and do not support an allocation of 95 homes – an increase of almost 20% on the existing numbers of homes – because the villages contain areas of floodplain and flood risk, green belt, ancient woodland, local green spaces, listed buildings and other heritage assets.  The villages also contain, or are close to, areas of biodiversity, open spaces, and areas for walking and cycling.  So overall an allocation of the size proposed is just not sustainable. 

“We believe the proposal to adopt either single policies and/or rationalised policies across large villages and service centres is a step too far.  The diversity of villages across the county, each with their own characteristics and constraints, in our view means that increased standardisation is likely to constrain planning discussions and may lead to sub-optimal outcomes for residents. 

“We are realistic that, notwithstanding the large village categorisation issue set out above, that Shaw and Whitley should accept an allocation over the plan period to include those already earmarked in the Neighbourhood Plan, with a strategy to maximise infill opportunities for the balance as if the villages were categorised individually as “small villages”. This would be more reflective of local needs.  Obviously, we will be recommending that the allocation should be significantly lower than proposed!”

In their response to the consultation, Atworth Parish Council said, “In general terms, the 80-unit “housing need” identified for Atworth is an entirely top-down allocation, in that no evaluation has been made of the village of Atworth in terms of the potential location of new development or the capacity for new development. 

“The village school is landlocked and incapable of expansion unless re-sited elsewhere. The village sits within the Neston Park Estate, which rarely releases land for development. Furthermore, the most recent Housing Needs survey in 2016 showed a requirement for four homes only in Atworth.”

Chairman of Seend Parish Council, Terry James, told Melksham News, “Seend Parish Council discussed the indicative housing requirement for Seend that has been set at 30 new homes to be built between 2016 and 2036 in the Local Plan Review. 

“Councillors agreed at their meeting that the number does not seem unreasonable. Particularly as there was a planning application awaiting approval at Park Farm for 10 affordable homes and one self build plot, which would straight away reduce the number to 19.

“Councillors raised concerns about the proposed revision of Core Policy 44 (V) that would allow up to 20 houses that could be built on exception sites. Currently an exception site is for 10 dwellings.   Councillors will be raising this concern in our formal response to the review.

“Any new house building in Seend would be quite limited because of the elevated position and constrained layout of the village.”

For information on the plan and consultation, which is open until March 9th, go to Wiltshire Council’s website:  www.wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-policy-local-plan-review-consultation. Comments received will help shape the draft Local Plan, which will be prepared for consultation later this year – the Local Plan will not be adopted before 2023.