Wiltshire Council refuses plans for 90 new homes

The 90 new homes were planned for land off Melksham Road in Holt

Wiltshire Council has refused controversial plans for 90 new homes in Holt.

The plans have received a lot of opposition, with many saying Holt does not have the infrastructure to deal with a new 90 home estate.

However, the final say on the application is now in the hands of a government planning inspector.

This is because the council did not make its decision on the application within the required timeframe.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme, the council does not have a five-year housing land supply in place - a calculation of whether there are enough sites to meet planned housing requirements over the next five years.

Therefore the inspector could grant permission for the Holt development to make up the required housing numbers in Wiltshire.

The area of land the proposal is to be built on is outside the neighbourhood plan, which designates which land can be built on.

It would not usually be considered for development on this basis however because of the lack of a five-year land supply the neighbourhood plan can be overridden by the inspector.

The plans were rejected at Wiltshire Council's strategic planning committee meeting on 22 March.

A speaker at that meeting, Kate Leroy suggested there is still hope despite the need for the council to make up housing numbers.

She cited a decision by a planning inspector to refuse permission for 98 houses at Trenham Lane in Trowbridge last September. The inspector took issue with Wiltshire's housing supply calculation and concluded the land supply shortfall should not be given substantive weight.

"Holt's main road is narrow. It's lined by old cottages,'' Ms Leroy added.

"Parked cars make the road single carriageway and encroach on the pavement.

"Pedestrians are threatened as cars and lorries are inches away."

A spokesman for developers Gladman Ltd said: "The development on the site will not have an unacceptable impact on the design or character of Holt."

He added the council's highways officer had not objected to the application.