Parish council slams plans for 185 homes between Swindon village

The proposal for the new housing estate has been made for Artis Farm on Swindon Road by developer Balmoral Land UK Ltd.

Wroughton and Wichelstowe Parish Council has raised concerns about the scheme, saying on Thursday it would lead to "overdevelopment and the loss of a determined boundary between Wroughton and Swindon."

READ MORE: Plan for hundreds of homes on edge of Swindon reduced

The parish council added that it would have "unavoidable adverse effects" on the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, which adjoins the southern edge of the village.

The council said: "Great weight should be given to conserving and enhancing the National Landscape and its setting."

The council also raised concerns about the impact of cumulative developments, particularly in the North Wroughton area.

It added that "Every infrastructure impact in this application has been scoped to 185 dwellings in isolation", but has not acknowledge 1,031 homes could be built under the Local Plan.

The parish said "assessing it parcel-by-parcel systematically understates demand and allows mitigation to be waived or minimised."

The council also highlighted concerns about traffic and the impact on the local road network.

They said: "The application’s own Transport Assessment modelling shows the Croft Road/Pipers Way/East Wichel Way junction has very little spare capacity left before any additional traffic from other omitted developments is included.

"The absence of any accompanying upgrades to the wider road network will likely result in unmanageable levels of traffic congestion."

The council also raised concerns about the lack of provision for additional pedestrian crossings on Swindon Road, "despite the anticipated increase in traffic"

The council also said the application is premature and would undermine the plan-led approach to the wider East Wroughton allocation.

They said: "The site is not allocated in the current adopted development plan. It is greenfield agricultural land.

"The applicant relies on the emerging Swindon Local Plan, in which the land forms part of the wider East Wroughton Strategic Growth Location."

However, they added that the local Plan has also not been approved yet so carries "very limited weight" under planning rules.

The council also raised concerns about the housing benefit relied upon by the applicant, saying it is overstated and the "tilted balance" is, at most, finely balanced.

They said: "The weight to be given to delivering these particular homes now is therefore modest, especially as the emerging plan will bring the same land forward comprehensively."

The council also raised concerns about the loss of agricultural land and education provision.

They said: "The proposal would develop 10.2 hectares of greenfield agricultural land, yet no Agricultural Land Classification assessment has been submitted.

"The Education response waives both primary and secondary contributions, but each waiver is expressly conditional on assessing this application alone, and each is immediately qualified by the warning that the authority must 'be mindful of other applications that may come in within the area.'"

The council also highlighted concerns about flooding, saying residents have informed them about flooding issues on the site, which contradicts the flood risk assessment in the application.

The parish council has asked Swindon Borough Council to consider these material planning objections and refuse the application.

They said: "Finally, the parish council also recognises that the inclusion of the site in the new Swindon Local Plan 2023-2043 will mean that, in all likelihood, it will ultimately succeed.

"While we recognise this probable outcome it is nevertheless vital to note the weaknesses in the application and the negative impacts we believe it will have on Wroughton.

"Residents in Wroughton understandably feel that the village has had more than its fair share of development in recent years and that further allocations are simply unsustainable."