My fellow Wiltshire Councillor Ernie Clark is right to be insisting that conditions put on the new Hilperton Link road be enforced. It was elected members of the former West Wiltshire District Planning Committee that put the conditions for two zebra crossings and a 50mph speed limit. It is now being alleged that Persimmon Homes are trying to find a way around these conditions, and it would seem that council officers may be giving them the green light.
This is far from an isolated case. In my own ward of Melksham Without North, I have had the very same problem on the Dauntsey Gate development east of Melksham.
Rightly, conditions were at the time put on the application which would have seen considerable community gain; this was agreed in partnership with the local parish council, Melksham Without.
When the parish council asked why the conditions had not been delivered they were told that they had been changed. Again without any consultation with the parish council, or myself as local member, or the residents that bought homes on the estate.
When a planning committee put conditions on an application, they do it for a reason. Any changes that are made should be made by the planning committee in consultation with the community and the local parish council.
Councillor Terry Chivers, Independent Melksham Without North, Eden Grove, Whitley.
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