A LONG-running bid to build on greenfield land in Purton will be decided at an appeal hearing today.

Persimmon Homes submitted plans to build 38 homes off Restrop Road, on the western edge of the village in April 2014. It was rejected by Wiltshire Council due to it falling outside the settlement boundary of the village and the application went to appeal before it was withdrawn, after attracting 76 letters of objection from residents.

Now developers have resubmitted the application and want to build 34 homes on the same site.

The Parish Council is Purton intends to object to several features of the application, mainly that the amount of houses will add to already congested country lanes and the houses are not in keeping with the immediate surroundings.

Ray Thomas, chairman of Purton Parish council, told the Adver: “We have no issue with development going on there, it’s a sensible place to extend that area, and there's footpaths going all the way to school.

"But the actual houses on the site and layout do not comply with the neighbourhood plan. So we will be going along and having a representative there."

The village recently voted in favour of a Neighbourhood Plan at a referendum this month which is referred to by Wiltshire Council when making planning decisions.

"They're not really the type of homes we're looking for, "added Ray.

"There's a couple of five bedroom ones there and that's not what we specified in the plan. We wanted bungalows, but we know that developers don't really built them anymore, they're uneconomic.

"We're happy to talk to them, we would have preferred it if they had withdrawn it and come back with a better proposal in our opinion.

"The worst thing of all is we needed the layout of the development to allow access to the fields behind. Because they are also in the melting pot for future development. What we don't want is a dead-end road that precludes anything on from being built behind. In a few year's time when the village will grow it's a sensible place to extend it in that area. But at the moment it appears that this will block any access from behind," added Ray.

"We've tried to future proof it so there is room to expand without encroaching any further on the village."

Wiltshire Councillor Jacqui Lay, who will be deciding on the plans, added: “We want to make sure it conforms to the neighbourhood plan, I’m aware of how local people feel. I talked to someone yesterday who thought it was a good plan.”

The development will be decided at a Northern Area Planning Committee today at the council offices in Monkton Park, Chippenham.