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Grovelands Way site not the right place for 175 homes
(December 08, 2014)TOWN councillors have agreed to oppose a planning application to build 175 dwellings on land off Grovelands Way in Warminster. The unanimous vote took place at a meeting of the planning advisory committee on Monday evening.
Several members of the public voiced objection to the planning proposal but were pushing at an open door since the site is quite clearly outside the agreed settlement boundary of Warminster, now accepted by the planning inspector.
Despite the site being in the town's west ward it was the east ward councillors who demonstrated real local knowledge of the area.
Councillor Nick Domkowski, who works in ground maintenance, knows the area well.
He said: "That site would be really suitable as a paddy field but not for putting 175 houses on."
Councillor Andrew Davis, cast his mind back to when the Grovelands Way estate was built in the 1990s. He said: "When the Grovelands area was given permission this piece of land was to be public open space, a balancing pond and children's play area.
"It is there to serve existing houses."
Cllr Pip Ridout, whose ward contains the site, reminded us all how important she was by mentioning all the meetings she was having with 'head of planning' but lacked any coherent thread or evidence of what the meetings had achieved.
The site does not form part of the 900 homes agreed for the western urban expansion.
Cllr Steve Dancey, said: "I attended some of the initial meetings in the early 1990s when the Grovelands Way estate was planned and have no doubt that what Andrew Davis said was correct - apparently an official at the old West Wiltshire District Council failed to register it as amenity land."
AT THE SAME meeting councillors embraced the Cooperative's plans for a new shop at Victoria Road and opposed the application for four Gypsy pitchs at Coldharbour Lane - a site often under water.