Town’s Neighbourhood Plan moves forward

Warminster’s Neighbourhood Plan 2 has moved to its next stage after councillors approved a revised draft at a recent full council meeting.

The revised plan will now be submitted to Wiltshire Council before being independently examined by a planning inspector.

The inspector’s recommendations will then return to Warminster Town Council before the plan is put to residents in a referendum for final approval.

The revised plan no longer identifies specific sites for new housing, following public feedback earlier this year. This does not mean new homes cannot be built in Warminster, but the Neighbourhood Plan will no longer direct development towards particular sites.

The former draft plan proposed 90 homes at Home Farm on Boreham Road, and two homes at the former Old Yew Tree pub site.

At the full council meeting on Monday 28th September, Cllr Philip Keeble said the plan had undergone a number of changes, including the removal of the housing site allocations.

“This of course, removes the protection that we would have got under speculative development but the evidence was very much in favour of not having housing site allocation, so we had to go along with that evidence,” he said.

“In the five years of production of this document, there have been many changes in both legislation and in governments and in government policies. If we were starting now things would probably be different but we have to draw a line somewhere, otherwise it just goes on and on.

“We are assured by our consultants that have supported us throughout this process that the document meets all the legal requirements, we have followed all due processes. I am confident that the document is complete and ready to go.”

The plan retains policies aimed at protecting special Local Green Spaces, supporting local businesses and the high street, and ensuring new development respects Warminster’s character.

A Warminster Town Council spokesperson said, “The Warminster Neighbourhood Plan is moving forward and it is important to maintain this progress. We thank everyone who has contributed to the plan. Whether by answering surveys or by submitting ideas and suggestions, hundreds of people have given their input.

“The Neighbourhood Plan aims to protect special Local Green Spaces from development and to ensure the town council gets the maximum amount of Community Infrastructure Levy. It will be an important document for the town.”