There was substantial opposition to the initial application for 200 dwellings at Moredon Bridge, which was approved on appeal. The views of those who objected have now been substantiated by the emerging Wiltshire Core Strategy which does not see the houses at Moredon Bridge as being useful for Wiltshire. Yet the developer has come back for more ~ another fifty.
The inspector at the time of appeal clearly stated that Bradley’s Meadow should be left alone given it was a designated Site of Nature Conservation Importance. These designations are not earned lightly and so it is a nonsense that some developer should argue that these grasslands are apparently not “worthy of retention”. This is commercial land grab at its most cynical.
The National Planning Policy Framework clearly says that the Government’s answer to development growth should be “yes” EXCEPT where this would compromise key sustainable development principles. One of these principles is that designated conservation areas cannot simply be paved over for convenience (such as a developer having 200 houses nearby and wishing to add a further 50).
The developer and Wiltshire Council have not been able to agree the conditions of the tacit permission to allow the fifty houses. So, the developer has initiated appeal proceedings. Date to be announced.
