The Devizes Guardians

The following is the text of a statement made at the Devizes Community Area Boards meeting on Monday 28th November 2011.  A vote was taken by the floor on the proposals and carried virtually unanimously. Councillors did not vote on this so as to protect their necessary neutrality when the plans come before Eastern Planning Committee. The two proposals are virtually identical, but it was felt more appropriate to present them as separate issues, hence the repitition of the text.

“CAB – Coate

Devizes is under threat from untrammelled development that is damaging the fabric of the community in every possible way. Our concerns are currently heightened by the proposed National Planning Policy Framework which states that there should be a predisposition for ‘sustainable development’, a phrase which implies that all development could go ahead regardless of the wishes of the local community. Housing in Devizes has expanded rapidly over the last few years and has outstripped employment opportunities. This cannot continue and any future development must be truly sustainable by being balanced with job creation within the immediate area. *

This meeting wishes to express the strongest possible opposition to the proposed development along Coate Road. If allowed to proceed, this development will extend the urban area into yet more of our countryside and will establish a precedent for further development to the east of Windsor Drive. It will generate additional traffic onto the London Road corridor and on into the town, pushing air pollution levels even further above the Government’s legal maximum. It will increase congestion which is already damaging our retail trade and put further pressure on an infrastructure which is already heavily overloaded and under-provided.

The lack of jobs in the area means that a very significant proportion of those living in such a development will commute to Swindon, Bath and beyond and as such it cannot be considered as a sustainable development.

With the above criteria in mind, it is proposed that this meeting expresses its firm opposition by a vote from the floor, to any development by Mactaggart & Mickel, or any other developer, on the site at Coate Bridge in Devizes

CAB – Roundway/Folly Road

Devizes is under threat from untrammelled development that is damaging the fabric of the community in every possible way. Our concerns are currently heightened by the proposed National Planning Policy Framework which states that there should be a predisposition for ‘sustainable development’, a phrase which implies that all development could go ahead regardless of the wishes of the local community. Housing in Devizes has expanded rapidly over the last few years and has outstripped employment opportunities. This cannot continue and any future development must be truly sustainable by being balanced with job creation within the immediate area. *

This meeting wishes to express the strongest possible opposition to the proposed assigning of strategic development land status to land at Roundway. If allowed to proceed, any development on this site will extend the urban area into yet more of our countryside and will establish a precedent for further development to the West of the site. It will generate additional traffic onto the London Road corridor and on into the town, pushing air pollution levels even further above the Government’s legal maximum. It will increase congestion which is already damaging our retail trade and put further pressure on an infrastructure which is already heavily overloaded and under-provided.

The lack of jobs in the area means that a very significant proportion of those living in such a development will commute to Swindon, Bath and beyond and as such it cannot be considered as a sustainable development.

It is the landowners, the Merchant Venturers, who have asked that this land at Roundway be designated a strategic development site with a potential build of hundreds of new houses. With the above criteria in mind, it is proposed that this meeting expresses its firm opposition by a vote from the floor, to any development by them, or any other developer, on the site at Folly Road in Devizes.

* ‘Sustainable’ does not currently have a very robust definition, but perhaps this one should be borne in mind: “No action should be taken that prejudices the options available to future generations.” On this count, both developments fail.

Judy Rose and Tony Sedgwick”