THE Warminster Neighbourhood Plan has been submitted to Wiltshire Council after been unanimously approved by local councillors.

The plans were put forward at a meeting of the Town Development Committee on Monday before being accepted at a meeting of Full Council immediately after.

A public consultation had been held from March 17 until May 8, allowing residents to have their say on what they want to see in the town and leading to amendments being made to the original plan.

This includes a maximum of 900 homes in the West Urban Extension in line with Wiltshire Council’s Core Strategy, no link road through The Avenue and the library to remain where it is amongst other changes.

Chris Montagu, a member of the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group and resident of Warminster for 15 years, said: “All of the changes have been as a result of the public consultation.

“We had around 750 people visit the various locations and we’ve had a large number of comments which have led us to way up the pros and cons of the areas of contention.

“Those areas of contention have been removed and I think the majority of people will be satisfied or agree with the changes we have made.

“The consultation was very positive, some people had more to say than others but many people came with their own issues.

“You can’t look at those specific issues in isolation though you have to look at what the knock-on effect is going to be.

“It’s hugely important that we have a Neighbourhood Plan as it’s a chance for the people of the town to decide what it wants and how it should develop, we don’t want developers coming in with what they think we ought to have.

“We’re not against growth, it’s how we grow.”

A public consultation lasting at least six weeks will now be held by Wiltshire Council before the plan is examined by an independent inspector.

A referendum will then be held with those in the Neighbourhood Plan area allowed to vote on whether to adopt the plan.

“We do want a very strong turn out when it comes to that referendum as otherwise a developer might challenge us,” added Mr Montagu.

“More people will give it credibility so we want a strong yes vote to send a message.”

Councillor Paul Macfarlane, chairman of the Town Development Committee, added: “The Neighbourhood Plan has taken over three years to complete, with the input of some 22 volunteers from a variety of community groups, including health providers, schools, churches as well as town council members.

“The revised Plan now reflects the changes the community requested. The next stage of the process will be for Wiltshire Council to carry out further consultation and independent examination.

“I would like to thank all those involved in producing this fantastic document, but especially Tony Nicklin and Chris Montagu, who I know members will agree, took most of the lion’s share.”