Plans for 30 new houses at Southwick approved
They'll be a mixture of two and three storey homes
Plans for up to 30 new homes in a village near Trowbridge have been given the go-ahead.
At Wiltshire Council’s Western Area Planning Committee on Wednesday, July 9 members voted to grant planning permission to Southwick Village Developments Ltd for the development west of Wesley Lane at Lamberts Marsh, Southwick.
While the site, which is bounded on three sides by houses, is outside of the settlement boundary of Southwick, it is allocated for housing in the Southwick Neighbourhood Development Plan 2018-2036.
The land that was being considered (in red) is part of a larger part of land (in blue) owned by the applicant.
Covering two acres to the west of the development a bat corridor will be established.
And to address local concerns about construction work access, a compound will be established on the non-development site to the west, with an existing entrance widened to accommodate lorries.
The applicant sought full planning permission for the construction of a new vehicular access and roadway, and erection of 30 houses – nine of which would be locally-discounted first homes priced at thirty per cent below full market value.
The homes would be a mix of traditional two-storey and contemporary three-storey dwellings, where the third storey is within the roof.
Southwick Parish Council supported the application, “following a flood of unwanted speculative proposals for large-scale development in the village.”
And, despite some local concerns about flooding, there were no objections from the Drainage Authority. The Highways Authority was also happy with the plans.
Approximately 100 representations have been sent to the council, many from duplicate addresses and the majority objecting to the scheme.
One resident whose property, at 23 metres, is the closest to the nearest proposed house at the northern edge of the development, said he would be overlooked by a three-storey house with full-length windows facing his property.
“No fence or hedge will provide adequate screening,” he said.
Planning officers, however, told councillors that screens had been incorporated into the building design to mitigate this.
A supporter of the application told the committee: “refusing this application based on objections made by a small number of individuals would be a major victory for nimby-ism and a travesty for Southwick village.”
Members of the committee voted by a majority to grant the application.