AN emphatic rejection of a scheme to build 60 new homes on the edge of Bradford on Avon has been issued by the town council.

National housebuilder Bellway has submitted detailed plans to Wiltshire Council to build a mixture of three to five-bedroom houses and bungalows on land off Holt Road, opposite the new Kingston Farm development.

However when the plans were reviewed by the town council, councillors were unhappy with the proposal, which they said was poorly put together, was not in keeping with the area, ignored the town's housing needs survey and neighbourhood plan and had been sent in with any public consultation.

The town council's planning committee have now sent their concerns to Bellway in the hope that the application, 40 per cent of which is earmarked for affordable housing, can be 'vastly improved and actually reflect the needs of the town'.

"It just seems like they did not try at all. We were very disappointed that we had so many reasons to turn this down. We need a robust response because this is simply not good enough," said Cllr Tom Lomax, an Ideal Bradford councillor who is on the planning committee.

"There seems to be a disconnect between them and the town. The affordable housing part has been squashed together in a corner, right next to the road, not integrating with the other bigger houses, like some sort of ghetto.

"The application needs to reflect the needs of the town and this fails at that as we were not consulted and neither were the public. We need more affordable housing and less big houses where developers make bigger profits.

"It has been put together in a haphazard way. It is not in keeping with the design of Bradford on Avon, which is planning speak for it is a rubbish design. We do not expect them to replicate houses from 400 years ago but there is an expectation of quality and this falls short.

"The comments that Bellway did receive appear to have been ignored. It also has no reference to the neighbourhood plan which outlines what people want in the town. It was a strange application. Bradford on Avon is a beautiful place that is highly sought after and this needs to be better."

The scheme was originally developed by Spitfire Homes and was granted outline planning permission on appeal in March 2016. The land was then sold to Bellway, who are currently building new homes in Bath, Corsham and Swindon, earlier this year.

Wiltshire Council are due to make a decision on the scheme in August.