WARMINSTER will grow by a further 203 houses after Wiltshire Council unanimously approved a planning application from Redrow Homes.

The application to build on land to the west of the town was approved by all members of the strategic planning committee, which consists of nine councillors from towns across Wiltshire.

It is the first development to be accepted in the West Warminster Urban Extension, which was approved by Wiltshire Council last month and could see the town grow by up to 1,600 houses in the next 25 years.

Warminster resident Jeremy Stadward, who was at the meeting, said: “I hate the idea of this development, and one of the main reasons for that is because it’s a betrayal of the people in the west of the town.

“I’m very disappointed as the way things are decided is not fair. We only get three minutes to express our views and the committee doesn’t care at all what we have to say.

“Developers such as Redrow get two years to put across their case, but we can’t argue with any of their plans or question them. I have real concerns about drainage and traffic problems which could come as a result of this.”

Much of the discussion at the County Hall meeting centred on the route that construction vehicles will take to enter and leave the site.

Heavy goods vehicles coming from the A36 will be directed down Victoria Road, Broxburn Road and then through the St Andrews Road cul-de-sac onto the site – a route which concerned resident Alison Kjaer, of nearby Haygrove Close.

She said: “It’s hard enough to drive down Victoria Road as it is without this development. I think Redrow’s traffic estimate is understated. There doesn’t seem to be a plan in place to combat traffic chaos at peak times in Broadway and Victoria Road.

"I really worry about what this development will mean for Warminster’s ongoing road congestion problem.”

Cllr Newbury, who also raised concerns about traffic but still voted in favour of the development, proposed the committee should take a visit to the site, a view seconded by Cllr Chivers but declined by the remaining seven members of the committee and therefore rejected.

Warminster councillor Pip Ridout said: “Am I delighted? Certainly not, as I have some very unhappy residents. But then I personally wouldn’t want any of the 1,920 houses which Warminster has to have, mostly in just my ward alone, which is something I have been arguing against since 2009.

“Government policy is that we need houses, houses, houses and then more houses again as we have two million in need of homes up until 2020 and a further three million by 2030 for our current and future population.

“My only relief that this has now been passed is that I may now get back to having a bit more time to sort out all the other problems in my ward and get ready for the next battle on the further planning application."

The remainder of the 900 houses to form the masterplan wil lbe decided in the coming year.

A Redrow spokesperson said: "Over the last three years, Redrow have worked closely with officers and key stakeholders to evolve the layout in order to address concerns raised throughout the process.

"The WWUE masterplan was endorsed last month at committee, and we are pleased that members today unanimously supported our development and approved our detailed application for 203 houses.

"Our application is fully in-line with the approved masterplan and provides much-needed housing for the Warminster community including 61 affordable homes."