MAJOR TOWN ISSUES
WILTSHIRE COUNCIL'S CORE STRATEGY FOR WARMINSTER
(November 20, 2009)PLANS for an
additional 900 new dwellings and a new primary school for the western
side of Warminster have been outlined by the new Wiltshire Council.
The council has been preparing its core strategy which will plot the path of development in Warminster and across the rest of the county in the years between now and 2026 - replacing the district local plan.
As such the new document is highly important and provides the template against which new
outline planning applications are measured.
The sites outlined for development are on the northwestern outskirts of the town, in addition to some regeneration sites in the town centre and will also space include for industrial development.
It total around 1,800 dwellings are required between now and 2026 although around 650 have already been identified or developed.
County planners believe that an increase in the pace of development here could help redress some of Warminster's failings as a community such as the lack of facilities for young people and strengthen the vitality of the town centre - an approach tried and failed in Trowbridge, of course.
Other ideas in the plans include improving bus services in the evenings, increasing the provision of car parking in the town centre, addressing issues at the fire station which is at full capacity and the provision of a cinema.
There is also talk of an integrated military and civilian leisure facility - more pie in the sky?
One welcome addition is the potential, first outlined on VisionforWarminster.co.uk of markets to be held in the High Street - though they surely mean the Market Place.
Some limited development is to be permitted in Codford and Heytesbury but other villages, which are now essentially dead as viable sustainable communities, will be required to stagnate for the next 20 years.
The development of several sites to the west of the town are regarded as suitable for 'a sustainable urban extension to Warminster.'
Our views
Steve Dancey, who was in charge of economic development at County Hall in the early 1990s responds.
The development of the Core Strategy has been thrust upon the Wiltshire Council by the regional body and the government and they have to come up with the goods in the form of a Core Strategy.
Of course an incoming Conservative government is, I know for sure, planning to change the system and the numbers involved.
However County Hall has to go through this charade because it needs to be seen to be acting reasonably and unless it takes a full part in the process it risks the prospect of greedy developers succeeding with speculative applications. It could also face huge costs at appeal.
Looking at the more general macro-economic and social picture I believe that the Government has over-egged the pudding in terms of housing need.
We are almost certainly in a lengthy period of lower economic growth that will last 20 years or more - even though the trade cycle will continue to operate.
Such periods in the past have included 1975-1994, 1920-37, 1874-1896 etc. If we are in such a period although there will be the occasional cyclical upswing, the general tone will be one of depressed economic activity in the UK.
If so the level of housebuilding will fall and demand for housing grow less rapidly. Social factors such as divorce, increased longevity and later marriage all provide a pent-up demand for housing, especially smaller single person units, but this demand has to be an effective demand.
Unless the demand is underpinned by a buoyant economy it will not be so effective.
My guess is that the numbers for Warminster will need to be drastically scaled back especially when it is considered that expanding housing at Warminster is unsustainable because of the lack of employment opportunities here- or do the authorities believe it is our destiny to be a retirement town?
Why build another 900 homes if almost all will need to drive to work elsewhere? Building additional homes will only underpin the economy and facilities locally if the inhabitants of these homes have sufficient disposable income to spend locally.
West Wilts and Wiltshire CC had poor records at securing community facilities in the form of Section 52, and later Section 106, agreements.
Given the level of past development in Warminster, especially at Grovelands, it would have been expected that the town would have benefited in some way by facilities - but has not.
My guess is that the section 106 possibilities were commuted into financial sums and earmarked to benefit Trowbridge.
Paul Macdonald, who was a member of West Wiltshire District Council'. planning committee in the early 1990s, was a prime mover behind Warminster's rural buffer -threatened by this proposal. He writes:-
The council has been preparing its core strategy which will plot the path of development in Warminster and across the rest of the county in the years between now and 2026 - replacing the district local plan.
As such the new document is highly important and provides the template against which new
outline planning applications are measured.The sites outlined for development are on the northwestern outskirts of the town, in addition to some regeneration sites in the town centre and will also space include for industrial development.
It total around 1,800 dwellings are required between now and 2026 although around 650 have already been identified or developed.
County planners believe that an increase in the pace of development here could help redress some of Warminster's failings as a community such as the lack of facilities for young people and strengthen the vitality of the town centre - an approach tried and failed in Trowbridge, of course.
Other ideas in the plans include improving bus services in the evenings, increasing the provision of car parking in the town centre, addressing issues at the fire station which is at full capacity and the provision of a cinema.
There is also talk of an integrated military and civilian leisure facility - more pie in the sky?
One welcome addition is the potential, first outlined on VisionforWarminster.co.uk of markets to be held in the High Street - though they surely mean the Market Place.
Some limited development is to be permitted in Codford and Heytesbury but other villages, which are now essentially dead as viable sustainable communities, will be required to stagnate for the next 20 years.
The development of several sites to the west of the town are regarded as suitable for 'a sustainable urban extension to Warminster.'
Our views
Steve Dancey, who was in charge of economic development at County Hall in the early 1990s responds.
The development of the Core Strategy has been thrust upon the Wiltshire Council by the regional body and the government and they have to come up with the goods in the form of a Core Strategy.
Of course an incoming Conservative government is, I know for sure, planning to change the system and the numbers involved.
However County Hall has to go through this charade because it needs to be seen to be acting reasonably and unless it takes a full part in the process it risks the prospect of greedy developers succeeding with speculative applications. It could also face huge costs at appeal.
Looking at the more general macro-economic and social picture I believe that the Government has over-egged the pudding in terms of housing need.
We are almost certainly in a lengthy period of lower economic growth that will last 20 years or more - even though the trade cycle will continue to operate.
Such periods in the past have included 1975-1994, 1920-37, 1874-1896 etc. If we are in such a period although there will be the occasional cyclical upswing, the general tone will be one of depressed economic activity in the UK.
If so the level of housebuilding will fall and demand for housing grow less rapidly. Social factors such as divorce, increased longevity and later marriage all provide a pent-up demand for housing, especially smaller single person units, but this demand has to be an effective demand.
Unless the demand is underpinned by a buoyant economy it will not be so effective.
My guess is that the numbers for Warminster will need to be drastically scaled back especially when it is considered that expanding housing at Warminster is unsustainable because of the lack of employment opportunities here- or do the authorities believe it is our destiny to be a retirement town?
Why build another 900 homes if almost all will need to drive to work elsewhere? Building additional homes will only underpin the economy and facilities locally if the inhabitants of these homes have sufficient disposable income to spend locally.
West Wilts and Wiltshire CC had poor records at securing community facilities in the form of Section 52, and later Section 106, agreements.
Given the level of past development in Warminster, especially at Grovelands, it would have been expected that the town would have benefited in some way by facilities - but has not.
My guess is that the section 106 possibilities were commuted into financial sums and earmarked to benefit Trowbridge.
Paul Macdonald, who was a member of West Wiltshire District Council'. planning committee in the early 1990s, was a prime mover behind Warminster's rural buffer -threatened by this proposal. He writes:-
Who are the people who write core strategies about Warminster? Do
they have any experience of the town over the last 30 or
40 years?
Warminster must not either become a retirement age area providing
jobs predominantly in the care industry or a dormitory town for those
who have a desire to live in a 'nice area' while they work miles away.
There are other urban areas more suited.
It must return to being a vibrant town in its own right also
servicing its huge hinterland and meeting a need to provide areas of
new employment while safeguarding its unique landscape setting.
The fact is that Warminster is a town that should not be bracketed in the same category as others but looked at differently.
Socially and economically that means a very special approach.
There is no cogent case for additional housing to meet government
demands that were doubtful even before the recession struck.
This town has a huge advantage and a series of disadvantages that any core strategy must address.
The disadvantages are social. At both ends of the age scale there is a need for more things to do.
The huge advantage is its location, setting and economic opportunity.
Tourism does not appear to be a priority which is strange bearing in mind our location.
A case is being made to have a joint military civilian approach to
leisure. Surely it would be better to have a joint approach to job
creation instead.
It is good that car parking and public transport issues have been identified.
Our Vision for Warminster has a whole series of ideas to address
the social and economic future leading to making the best of what it
already has and adding several new features that sit comfortably with
the community that we are