Councillors voice opposition to 205 new houses.

24 November 2021

Warminster Town Councillors voiced their opposition to a planning application for 205 houses on the Westbury Road.

At a meeting on Monday 23^rd November, all the members of the Planning Advisory Committee present spoke of their opposition to the proposal. They were joined by 13 members of the public, 5 of whom used the meetings public participation slot to express their dislike of the proposals and the impact they feared it would have.

Amongst the points made by Councillors and the public were:

The proposed development is contrary to the national and local planning policy. The development sits outside the Settlement Policy Boundary. Other land is available and allocated for housing so there is no need for this development. Allowing it would create a dangerous precedent and make it harder to stop similar proposals.
It ignored the Neighbourhood Plan, which had been endorsed by the community of Warminster

The proposed development is not in keeping with the existing housing, being a high density estate on the edge of low density housing.
There is great biodiversity in this area and protected species which would be adversely affected by the development.
The proposed development will have a negative impact on the amenity of other residents by increasing the risk of flooding elsewhere in the town.
The proposed development falls within flood zone 2 & 3, which should not normally be used for housing.
The development will cause traffic problems. There would be increased cross town traffic due to the need to access to services that sit on the opposite side of town, bringing gridlock to the already congested town centre.
The proposed development will adversely affect the view of and from the hills which are a key cultural and heritage feature of Warminster.
The type of housing proposed will not satisfy local housing needs. The ‘affordable housing’ proposed is beyond the reach of those in housing need.

Councillor John Syme, Chair of the Planning Advisory Committee said: “Town Councillors have made their opposition clear, let us hope that this is listened to and the application is rejected.”