Wanborough: Plans to construct a family home south of Swindon have come to nought.

Developer Equiom Trust, a Guernsey company, has withdrawn its application to convert a steel-clad farm barn into a four-bedroom house.

The structure stands alone on a single-track country lane off the road between Foxhill and Hinton Parva.

Wanborough: The proposals to build a house towards the top of Wanborough High Street at its junction with Callas Hill has been refused.

Les Duncan, who lives in the village, had wanted to construct a new family house at the edge of the village between the end of the houses and the telephone exchange.

The two-storey, three bedroom house, would feature a single-storey annex with domed glass roof as a dining room and a double coach-house style garage and storage room on the other side.

But planning officers didn’t like it. The refusal notice said it would create 'a negative visual intrusion, affecting the openness and linear nature of the settlement to the detriment of the setting of the conservation area'.

Officers thought the building would be overdevelopment of the open fields, and of “poor design and architectural quality”.

Blunsdon: Blunsdon House Hotel will be able to offer its guests and improved spa, pool and sauna.

The business has been given permission to contract a new annex at the back of its site for the facilities and a pump room.

It told planners: “The changing requirements for modern hospitality venues together with increased demand, reflecting the continued success of the hotel and expansion of Swindon and its economy.

“The existing spa, sauna and steam room facilities are out of date and not working efficiently.” The application said the annex would be created to give views over the hotel park grounds and would avoid overlooking neighbours.

Nearby residents were concerned about noise, saying the existing spa pump was too loud and expressing fears a new one would be as bad or worse.

Town centre: The conversion of an old laundry in Aylesbury Street has come several steps closer.

Planners have approved the details of the outside construction of the six-storey building to be built at the former wash building.

The plans for the development of the laundry into a Hampton by Hilton hotel are being put forward by Old Town based Ridgevale Estates which already owns and runs a similar franchise in Dundee and a Holiday Inn Express in Windsor.

Town centre: A new electricity substation will be constructed to serve office buildings at the bus station in New Bridge Square.

The borough council had applied for, and been given, permission to install the substation on the side of the building facing Carfax Street.

Old Town: The gates into Town Gardens from Quarry Road can be taken away and restored. Swindon Borough Council has approved the plans put forward by South Swindon Parish Council to get the work done.

The gates which are 125 years old are listed and the work will cost £70,000 as they are in such poor condition. The parish council has already secured a £10,000 grant for the work which is expected to start next year.

Wroughton: A businesswoman has been given permission to knock down a dilapidated lean-to shed adjoining her house in Church Hill in Wroughton, and build a new two-storey extension.

The ground floor of the new building will feature a large storage space and room for a home gym, while the second storey will be used for a self-contained ‘granny flat’.

The applicant Vanessa Pitts, runs an archiving businesses The Booking Office and wants the storage for that and the self-contained flat “for an elderly relative, when the time comes.”