A BRADFORD on Avon councillor says Wiltshire Council has made no provision for employment land in its new local plan for the town.

Sarah Gibson, an architect who will be fighting to keep her town and county seat on Bradford on Avon South for the Liberal Democrats in the May local elections, submitted her views to the council during the local plan review consultation which ended on March 9.

She said: “The new local plan comes at a crucial moment, with the effects of the pandemic accelerating changes to our high streets and working lives along with the now ever more pressing need to foster employment opportunities within the county and provide low cost housing for those who most need it.

“I am concerned that the Green Blue Infrastructure Strategy and the Transport Strategy are not available on the portal as part of this consultation as both are such vital parts of place shaping.

“Concerning BoA directly, I am concerned that no employment land is to be proposed and would like to know on what basis this was decided. I believe that as a traditional industrial town which is a hub for our area villages, some employment land should be included.”

Wiltshire Council has outlined plans to build up to 80 new homes in Bradford on Avon to meet demand up to 2036 as part of its local plan review.

The council has earmarked the old Bradford on Avon golf course as one of three sites for potential new housing development, along with the Woolley Allotments in Sladesbrook and an old greenhouse site in Cemetery Lane.

Mrs Gibson said: “I believe that none of the three sites identified are appropriate for allocation of new housing.

“The golf club site is included in Wiltshire Council’s GBI Strategy and should therefore maintain its current status as a wilderness area. It has poor access, is subject to flooding and has contaminated land issues.”

“The opportunity to continue the green corridor from the strips towards Widbrook Wood should not be lost.

“The Woolley allotment site is an active allotment which creates a much-needed green area in the north of the town, again with poor access.

“The old greenhouses site, although partly brownfield of a sort, has open field and mature trees making it of limited development potential.

“There are other sites within the town that can deliver the plan period housing allocation, and provide the type of housing that is needed in Bradford on Avon rather than large family homes on the edges of the town.”

“The station car park, identified as an area of opportunity in the made Neighbourhood plan, is under study by Wiltshire Council at present and affordable housing can/should be part of this study. “Small sites where previous planning consents have lapsed and other infill sites would be more capable of fulfilling the need.

“On the “Addressing Climate Change and Biodiversity Net Gain through the Local Plan” consultation paper, I welcome this element of the Local Plan but think it could go further and have answered the consultation questions online.”