School extension among latest Wiltshire Council planning applications

Lavington School, located in Market Lavington to the south of Devizes, has plans to redevelop its agricultural science building.

As part of this redevelopment, it proposed to construct an entrance foyer extension, which the council has now approved.

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The details of all planning applications sent to Wiltshire Council can be viewed on the planning and building control public register. (Image: Getty) According to the application, the extension will allow pupils and staff to “take off coats” and wipe off “dirty feet”, whilst retaining warmth in the rest of building where it is “needed most” in the winter.

The plans note that the overall refurbishment work will provide a “much-needed physical centre and focus point which the sixth formers can occupy”.

Wiltshire Council gave Lavington School the go-ahead for the extension on Thursday, February 13.

In other planning news, the council has received an application for up to 31 storage units on an old pig farm in Warminster.

This comes after Wiltshire Council’s enforcement team paid a visit to the land at Markay Estate, on Furnax Lane.

The visit was regarding four green storage containers that had already been placed on the site.

A retrospective planning application has now been submitted for these containers, along with a request for permission for up to 31 storage units on the site.

The plans state: “The principle of storage containers has been established with the acceptance of 170 storage containers at the adjacent site of Norbeck, which is a much more visible site than this site as Norbeck is up on a plateau.”

They add: “The fencing has already been erected, it is typical of countryside security green wire fencing which provides security by enclosing the site, visibility is clear through the link chains and does not cause any harm to highway safety.”

The applicant, Brant Storage, argues that the old pig farm is “currently performing no function” and that the proposed development “will put the site to a good sustainable use, providing much needed storage for the local community as well as tidying up the site and enhancing the hedgerow and ecology”.

The application notes: “There are security cameras on site monitoring the gate and site which is operated from the headquarters at Alton. 

“It is proposed to manage the site on a weekly basis to clear units and remove rubbish. 

“There will be a locked bin on site for use by the container users. 

“There will also be nightly patrols.

“As a benefit the security camera can monitor the wider area.”

Wiltshire Council is expected to make a decision on this planning application by Friday, April 4. 

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Finally, a farm near Corsham has received permission to replace a commercial building on the land.

Ridgefield Farm has been historically operated by Wiltshire Mushrooms and there has been an ongoing mix of agricultural and commercial activities at the site for many years.

According to the application, a number of polytunnels were erected in support of the mushroom farming business during the 1990s and permission was later granted in 2017 for the erection of two agricultural buildings.

Now, an existing commercial polytunnel store on the site will be replaced by a new purpose-built building which will be approximately18.8m in length by 9.5m in width.

The plans conclude: “The commercial use of the land is already established, and the development proposed simply seeks to improve the quality of the existing building on site.”

The details of all planning applications sent to Wiltshire Council can be viewed on the planning and building control public register.