RESIDENTS in Marlborough have lost their bid to protect a play area from being built on after Wiltshire Council ordered to the land be sold to developers.

Cabinet councillors were asked if they would risk letting their own children play in a park which regularly floods, as part of the campaign to block plans to build 39 new houses.

However, Wiltshire Council ruled against the residents and confirmed that the play area will be moved on to the water meadow below the current site by Rabley Wood View, The Thorns and Rogers Meadow.

The decision came despite objections raised by residents, town councillors and some of Wiltshire’s own councillors about the safety and legality of the deal.

Original planning documents for the area stated that the green space should be protected from being built on ‘in perpetuity’ and home owners argued that the council had an obligation to leave the space alone.

Although the slide and swings will stay on the main site, the football field will now be transferred to the water meadow and the current green space built on.

In an impassioned plea Cllr Guy Loosmore said: “There is a sense among locals of being disenfranchised and powerless with Wiltshire Council, where nobody listens but everybody matters, but only in a superficial way.”

The group argued that the meadow floods regularly and is a safety risk, with no access for emergency vehicles.

Jayne Baker, of The Thorns, said: “This water meadow floods six months of the year. Would any members of the cabinet be willing to let their children play in such an area? If ‘in perpetuity’ is to mean anything, and if this goes through, then a clear precedent is being set that planning conditions can be ignored.”

Councillor Toby Sturgis, cabinet member for planning and strategic asset management said: “It is a difficult decision to make but I have to think about the whole of Wiltshire and the assets we hold. In this case I believe the decision will create a finished article of a safe open space. We advertised this and only received a handful of objections.”

Chair Jane Scott reminded cabinet that after being rejected by Wiltshire Council planners twice since 2015, the issue was investigated by the Planning Inspectorate, which found the land should be sold for development. She added that following the ruling, the council had to decide whether to dispose of the land.

A unanimous decision to order the disposal of the land was made.

Led by resident Jayne Baker and Councillor Guy Loosemore, the case to save Rabley Wood View from having 39 houses built on it was heard at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.