Local residents are being asked to give their views on an updated Warminster Neighbourhood Plan which will help shape how the town develops over the next 15 years.
One of the key issues will be housing, and the Plan will give the local community a say in which sites they might like to see considered for new housing developments.
“The draft Warminster Neighbourhood Plan 2 (2016 to 26) gives our community a direct voice in shaping where new homes are built,” said a spokesperson for the council. “An adopted (‘made’) Neighbourhood Plan, becomes a statutory legal document that planning decisions must take into account.
“Our draft 2026 Plan proposes to allocate two sites for housing development – land East of the Dene (Home Farm) and the old Yew Tree Pub on Boreham Road.
“There are strong benefits to tackling the issue of housing need, but there is also significant local concern, and opposition to the allocation of Home Farm.
“The site allocations are therefore proposed strictly as draft policies so people from across the town can consider the detail of the allocation within the wider context of the whole plan.
“We need to hear from as many people as possible, and on the strength of that response, the housing allocations will either be included in the next version of the Plan, or they will be removed.”
Without site allocations in place, the council says Warminster risks losing control over where new building happens. Wiltshire Council currently cannot demonstrate the required five-year supply of developable housing land which weakens its ability to resist planning appeals from developers.
“If Warminster doesn’t tackle the task of allocating sites proactively, we miss our best opportunity to obtain the protection the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) grants to Neighbourhood Plan areas that do,” added the council spokesperson. “Instead of planned, coordinated growth with supporting infrastructure, development may take place speculatively and may fail to adequately consider the needs of our community.
“This is a primary reason why our updated, but still draft Neighbourhood Plan proposes to allocate land for 90 dwellings, meeting the housing requirement and giving our community greater protection from unplanned development.”
The draft plan proposes 90 homes at Home Farm and two at the Old Yew Tree pub site.
“The draft Neighbourhood Plan 2 is just that – a draft for feedback that shape the final content,” added the spokesperson. “If community response to this consultation on the whole draft Plan demonstrates a continued lack of consensus for the inclusion of any site, the Plan will be updated to reflect that position. There is no requirement for a Neighbourhood Plan to allocate housing sites, it is a choice the community can make.”
You can read about the process and options in more detail in the Site Allocation Topic Paper available on warminsterplan.com. The consultation will run until Monday 23rd March.
For more information about the Neighbourhood Plan see the centre pages or contact visit warminsterplan.com, phone 01985 214847 or email admin@warminster-tc.gov.uk
