As you may recall, there was an outline planning application for further development at Restrop. It was supposed to be determined earlier this month but due to the volume of objections, the applicant has retrieved their application and has been given some time to make changes.
There were several areas of objection with the original application:
- The location is largely outside our neighbourhood plan, being in open countryside;
- We have a three-year housing land supply which means that officially we have enough houses already;
- The land agent is arguing that Purton should be supplying houses for Swindon (this is why we have a neighbourhood plan so we can determine how many houses we need for “local need”);
- The current Wiltshire Core Strategy does not focus strategic growth (i.e. for Swindon) on Large Villages (such as Purton);
- The so-called Consultation was a few boards laid flat on tables. The diagrams at the Consultation are not now the same as in the outline application;
- Because the precise number of houses is not known (because it can be changed at the detailed planning application stage) the transport and traffic assessments are largely theoretical; and
- There is no guarantee of the road connection through Reid’s Piece which is the only real benefit to the village (reducing coach traffic to the schools).
So the new target date for decision is Thursday 10 October. Before then, as this will now be a new application, it will have to come out for our consultation again, probably late August/early September.
Watch this space.
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