Homes plan angers town

9:10am Friday 4th July 2008

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PLANS for 59 homes on land at Pound Mead in Corsham have been given the go ahead despite strong objections.

Westlea Housing Association has been granted approval to build the homes on Wednesday at a North Wiltshire District Council planning meeting.

Residents living in nearby Hitherspring attended the meeting, held at the councils offices in Monkton Park, to voice concerns about over development in the area.

But, despite their concerns, district councillors gave permission for the plans on the condition that developers plough money back into the community.

They agreed the housing project could go ahead as long as a section 106 agreement was signed beforehand.

This agreement will mean developers will have to contribute £80,000 towards local education, £54,000 towards public open space and make sure 30 per cent of the development is made up of affordable housing.

If an agreement is not reached by August 26 then permission will be refused.

Corsham town and county councillor Peter Davis, who attended the meeting, said he believed district councillors had not listened to objections and solely focused their attentions on the legal agreement.

He said: "They weren't concentrating on planning aspects at all.

"Afterwards, one of the residents said he felt like he had been at a finance meeting and not a planning meeting.

"There was just so much talk about money.

"The members were only concentrating on the amount of money that Westlea had to pay - they weren't listening to planning reasons."

Cllr Davis said he felt the development would only create "slums" of the future.

He said: "The area will only deteriorate with a high concentration of people in a very small space.

"It will get run down as there is too much pressure.

"There will be just a complete lack of open space as there will be too many properties.

Corsham Town Council's planning committee had rejected plans when consulted at an earlier stage.

Allan Bosley, council chairman, said the council had been developing a vision of Corsham for the future that called for a "slowing down" of development.

He said: "This is in the light of the 18 to 20 per cent increase that we've already had in the last two years, as well as the plans on the table for significant development around Westwells, Neston and Rudloe.

"There are serious infrastructure implications for the town which need to be resolved before we would approve of what are significant increases in housing.

"These include health, and as we know the future of the surgery is far from clear."