To: Wiltshire County Council

NO to 275 new homes being built on farmland at Shurnhold, Melksham, Wiltshire

UPDATE - 11/10/16 - We won.

We all knew from the outset that Gladman Homes’ plan to place 275 houses on land in Shurnhold was wholly unsuitable for our area. We worried about the effect it would have on flooding, on traffic, on school places, and on the nature and feel of our community.

So we objected. We sent our objections to Gladman Homes, we signed this petition, we wrote to Wiltshire County Council. The Council listened to us, and agree that we were right, and so the Council turned down the application.

But that was not the end of it. Gladman appealed to the Secretary of State. A two-week planning inquiry took place over the summer, which took into account the objections we had all made, and where evidence was heard from local residents. The Planning Inspector then went away to consider the evidence, and she has now published her decision, rejecting the application.

So there you have it. Our voice has been heard, and working together we have won.

Thank you.

Mark Ashkowski

Gladman Developments have circulated a public consultation document relating to the proposed development of 275 new homes on a greenfield site that is prone to flooding at Shurnhold, Melksham. This is in addition to the development of 250 homes on the former George Ward School site opposite which was fiercely opposed by local residents, was refused planning at the first attempt before all opinion was ignored and it was granted by the council.

We, the residents of Shurnhold, Shaw, Whitley, Atworth, Broughton Gifford and Melksham and surrounding areas strongly oppose this irresponsible development and call upon Wiltshire County Council to reject any plans to develop this site.

Why is this important?

The site is completely inappropriate for a development of this kind for the following reasons:

This precise area is prone to frequent flooding, the last time being on 18th September 2014 where many existing houses were flooded and the main A365 road was closed for two days.

The land completely surrounds a grade II listed building that will lose all of it's views and will likely suffer increased risk from flooding from the developed land.

The A365 (Bath - Melksham) road that bisects the two sites is a known traffic blackspot often leading to long tailbacks in both directions. Additional traffic on this route will increase the risk of accidents and nearby narrow residential lanes being used as rat-runs.

Local infrastructure including primary/secondary schools and GP surgeries are already over-subscribed and cannot cope with the anticipated additional 1000+ extra residents.

The nature and character of this semi-rural area including the nearby villages of Shaw and Whitley will be profoundly affected for the worse by this development.

How it will be delivered

By email and hand to Wiltshire County Council offices, Gladman Developments and the local landowner.

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Links

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Updates

2016-10-11 10:59:19 +0100

Petition is successful with 587 signatures

2014-12-12 11:31:59 +0000

500 signatures reached

2014-11-19 22:15:37 +0000

In case we need any more proof about the flood prone nature of Shurnhold http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2014-09-19/full-report-the-flooded-aftermath-of-last-nights-storm/

2014-11-19 22:00:33 +0000

100 signatures reached

2014-11-19 18:55:15 +0000

50 signatures reached

2014-11-19 18:24:03 +0000

25 signatures reached

2014-11-19 17:33:59 +0000

10 signatures reached