CRICKLADE hotel owner Mark Ingle has vowed to carry on his fight to develop a property into flats.

But opponents have claimed victory after the planning committee at North Wiltshire District Council refused his proposal.

At a meeting on Wednesday night the committee decided that his plans to build four flats and one house would be too dense for the land in Ladymead.

Mr Ingle, who owns the Vale Hotel in the town, is planning to go to appeal and is determined to succeed.

Hundreds of residents signed a petition in opposition to Mr Ingle's plan to develop the house in Ladymead.

Flyers were put up in shop windows and residents have expressed their fears that green land would be lost.

But Mr Ingle insists the petition is wrong and says he does not want to build on green land.

He said: "It was quite clear from the Cricklade meeting that certain councillors were prejudiced against any flats.

"With their outdated attitudes they were only able to associate them with social problems, therefore they were discriminating against a large proportion of our community.

"I want to provide affordable housing for the people of Cricklade. Nobody else is doing this apart from me.

"I have already had 17 people come to see me who are desperate to be housed in Cricklade. I want to help."

In January Mr Ingle submitted an application for seven two-bedroom flats to replace the pre-fabricated house.

There were five objections, which meant North Wiltshire District Council had to consider the proposal.

The council's planning committee rejected it because, when taken with a proposal from Westlea Housing Association for the next door plot, it would have led to more than 20 homes being built.

He said: "I had no problem with the decision they made, because it would have been over-development."

He then reduced the proposa, and says the council looked at his revised proposal in March and the planning committee voted to approve it.

The property actually passed planning four weeks ago, although this application had an error when it was listed as being semi-detached rather than an end terrace.

He says that on the following day this permission was withdrawn.

In February, during a planning meeting at North Wiltshire District Council, the picture shown on the screen showed seven flats.

Mr Ingle says these mistakes were not of his making.

Speaking about last Wednesday's meeting, objector Lance Allen said the committee had listened to public opinion.

He said: "I know Mr Ingle will not have been happy with refusal but we are over the moon.

"The planning officer was recommending approval but the committee recognised seven letters of objection and 78 objections resulting from the petition.

"They said it would have been over-development and that is true. We would have had problems with parking and a strain on the infrastructure."