TOWN councillors gave their backing to 135 new houses to be built in Warminster at a meeting on Monday (December 12).

Four councillors on the planning advisory committee voted in favour of the proposed development at Home Farm, just off Boreham Road, submitted by Hallam Land Management, while two voted against it.

It will now fall before Wiltshire Council’s planning committee who will decide whether or not to approve it.

Cllr Rob Fryer, who is in favour of it, said: “The developers have put a lot of thought into this application and I can’t see why people in Bishopstrow are objecting as it won't affect them.

“Their lifestyles of property values won’t change but I guess there will always be people who don’t want things to be built.

“Hallam have come forward with a very generous proposal and it’s one that needs to go ahead.”

But lots of residents do not share the same view, with a total of 166 public letters being written to Wiltshire Council, the vast majority objecting to the application.

A member of The church of St Aldhelm, just outside the village, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “This development compromises the integrity of our village.

“We are eventually going to get absorbed into the sprawl of Warminster and stop being a village. It’s a massive issue for us.

“We are a quiet community and people don’t seem to notice us because we aren’t that flashy, but we are a very cohesive community and it would be such a shame if we lose that identity.

“Warminster Town Council don’t seem to take our concerns on board and perceive them as silly and insignificant, but this is something which we are very passionate about.

“And Wiltshire Council try to promote tourism in the county but they are gradually letting the feel of it slip away by approving all of these applications.”

Cllr Steve Dancey, one of the two councillors to vote against the development, said: “If this application is approved by Wiltshire Council it opens the floodgates for speculative developments all over the town.

“It could result in hundreds or potentially thousands of added homes being built here.

“It shows how useless the recent neighbourhood plan is.”