The developer behind a proposal to build 30 houses in a small village south of Wroughton wants to change the design of the homes.

SEPA Ltd has had to put in a new application for planning permission to build the 30 affordable semi-detached houses on land next to a former electricity substation in Langton Park.

The previous application, which was approved in 2020, would have seen fairly standard looking flat-fronted semi-detached houses laid out around a curving road on the broadly rectangular patch of land.

The new plan sees much more radical-looking houses proposed. SEPA’s application says: “This application is for a redesign and modified layout to create 30 modular buildings on the site.”

The application shows houses in pairs in with dramatic black and wide cladding and projecting upper floors and sharply gabled roofs.

The developer says: “There is vertical window emphasis with logical window size to address key rooms and create a rhythm to the elevations. The projecting bay adds depth and interest to the elevations while providing a simple cover to the front door. “

There will be a mix of one-bedroom apartments, two- and three-bedroom houses all with gardens and allocated off-street parking. 

The design of the houses is the same as that which has been approved for a development of 18 houses on land next door to the sitethis one.

There has been quite a saga to getting approval for housing in Langton Park – the first application for 18 homes next to the plot earmarked for 30 was initially refused but approved on appeal.

When the first application to build to 30 homes was lodged local councillors objected on the same grounds as the first but the plan was given the go ahead in the face of probablythe likelihood of losing another appeal.

Both residents and Wroughton Parish Council have expressed opposition to both developments. They are particularly worried by access. The main route in to Langton Park from Wroughton is via the narrow and steep Priors Hill.

Wroughton Parish Council said: “We are very concerned that the access to any new development in this area is already unsound and will worsen in the future. 

“Currently access is either via Priors Hill, a single lane Victorian road too narrow for a pavement and unsuitable for cycling or a single track road which begins at Overtown Hill and serves a hotel, some housing,
working farms, and a racing stable. 

“Agricultural vehicles are often driven along the section that joins with Hospital Road, and horses are regularly ridden along it to access the fields to the south of Hospital Road.

"Visibility along this winding road is very limited, and in wet weather huge puddles of water fill the road surface making it difficult to brake in time when faced with oncoming vehicles.

"There are few passing spaces and vehicles travelling towards each other must hope that one driver has enough local knowledge to know where there is a bank eroded enough to reverse into to allow the other to pass.

"This must not be viewed as a useable road; it is too hazardous.”