Malmesbury homes to be built despite council objections

The plans have been approved despite objections from the town council

More than 130 new homes will be built in Malmesbury despite objections from the council.

The council argued the proposed estate on land at Filands Road and Jenners Lane fell outside its neighbourhood plan and should not be built.

Developer Bloor Homes appealed to the government after its proposal was rejected by Wiltshire Council.

The council's planning committee chair Phil Exton said the council's hands were now tied despite their objection.

Bloor Homes told the government planning inspector the referenced neighbourhood plan was out of date and the inspector gave consent to build on the land.

Originally the developer planned to build 150 houses on the site but following negotiations with Malmesbury Town Council it reduced the build to 130 homes with protected space for a nursery.

"We won't be trying to block it again because it's already gone through judicial review saying it can be developed," Mr Exton said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The inspector said any neighbourhood plan more than two years old would not carry the same weight so when it went to plea the inspector decided it shouldn't carry as much weight because ours is eight years old.

"We're in the process of updating our neighbourhood plan and then we're going to have to start all over again because it takes two or three years to put together.

"It's become a constant thing we have to keep reinventing to keep its weight," he added.