The formal consultation that Warminster Town Council undertook on the draft of the second edition of the Neighbourhood Plan has marked a major milestone for the town.
Hundreds of individual comments were received, many of them from the community demonstrating strong local engagement.
Over the last three months, the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has been carefully reviewing this feedback to refine and update the plan ensuring that it is genuinely community-led, and has the strongest possible foundation of evidence.
Protecting three key things
Residents constructive feedback has been used to reinforce the Plan. The revised draft firmly retains and strengthens key policies to shape future development including:
- Local Green Spaces: Securing strong protection for our cherished community green areas.
- A Thriving Town Centre: Enhancing policies to support local businesses and the high street.
- Design Codes: Local Design Codes and standards to ensure any future development respects Warminster’s unique character and challenges with parking and getting around.
A decision on housing
The Plan also retains a policy reinforcing the town’s built area boundary to protect the rural setting from unplanned development and to support that delivery of local housing needs.
However, the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group is to recommend not allocating any specific housing sites in Warminster within the upcoming Neighbourhood Plan.
Results from the community demonstrated that around 40% of those who responded were in favour of the allocation, with 60% against.
The Land East of the Dene (also known as Home Farm on Boreham Road) was the key focus for many community respondents.
Looking at this feedback, it is clear to the Steering Group that there is not sufficient public support to keep the site allocations policy, and the Plan needs to be updated to reflect that.
We know there are implications for the town as a result of this outcome, which were made clear in the consultation. Removing site allocation means Warminster will not be actively directing where its required housing should go; and what it should, and should not, contain.
It’s important to note that removing site allocation from our plan does not mean no houses will be built. With Wiltshire Council currently revising its Local Plan and likely increasing housing targets county-wide, developers remain entirely free to submit speculative planning applications for any available site.
Wiltshire Council will make the decisions on those planning applications. Warminster needs an up-to-date Neighbourhood Plan that can influence those decisions.
The focus shifts to raising the design and environmental bar for any planning application. It is hoped that the overall suite of Neighbourhood Plan’s policies will help resist inappropriate housing proposals that may come forward through speculative planning applications.
Next steps
The revised Submission Draft of the Neighbourhood Plan will be presented to the Town Council in late July. If approved, it will be submitted for further public consultation and undergo independent examination by a Planning Inspector to ensure our policies meet the legal basic conditions.
Ultimately, the final decision belongs to residents. The plan will only pass into law if it receives a “Yes” vote from the community in a local referendum.
By participating in this robust process, we’ll have a Neighbourhood Plan for Warminster with legal weight that is designed, shaped, and approved by the people who live here.
For more information contact Warminster Town Council, Tel: 01985 214847 or email: admin@warminster-tc.gov.uk
Last modified: 30 June 2026
