The Inspector who is reviewing the emerging Wiltshire Core Strategy (eWCS) has written a letter to Wiltshire Council to raise several issues, two of which are of interest and direct relevance to Purton.
Housing
The inspector, citing the National Planning Policy Framework and various methods for assessing housing need supply, is currently inclined to conclude that the balance of the evidence does not support an objectively-assessed housing need as low as 37,000 homes for Wiltshire as a whole.
He argues for numbers in the region of 44,000. The Council is now contemplating this and, if it agrees, will need to propose where these houses should go.
Settlement Boundaries
The eWCS refers to the retention of the existing settlement boundaries for certain Large Villages (e.g. Purton).
The Inspector noted that Wiltshire Council did not review the extent of the boundaries during the eWCS process, rather it relied upon the existing development plan documents (e.g. the North Wiltshire District Local Plan in our case). Because some of these plans were adopted some years ago, the Inspector maintains that the settlement boundaries are not up-to-date. Wiltshire Council has acknowledged this and identifies community-led planning (the neighbourhood plans) as the method to deliver the necessary updates. However, the Inspector considers this to be a risk since such neighbourhood plans may not be delivered across the county in a comprehensive or timely fashion.
Consequently, the Inspector suggests that there is scope to advance settlement boundary reviews on a case-by-case basis. Such work could complement that emerging from any advanced community-led planning process and would not negate such processes from reviewing the validity of revised settlement boundaries in the future. However, reversing a recently-revised settlement boundary is highly unlikely to happen.
We have already seen Wainhomes arguing at the recent Widham Farm appeal that the settlement boundary for Purton needs to be changed. After this appeal, I immediately lodged a modification to the eWCS requesting that Wiltshire Council re-affirm the Purton settlement boundary until the neighbourhood plan determined otherwise (if at all). I then encouraged our unitary councillor and the Purton Parish Council to lodge a modification as well.
These two aspects of the eWCS have profound implications for the future shape and size of Purton and we need to remain vigiliant.
