Anger at plans to build on protected green open space in Trowbridge

Around 80 residents at Broadmead attended a protest meeting last November after a property company began selling off green space plots by public auction.

Trowbridge Town Council has now objected to plans to build on one of the open green spaces, saying it would set a precedent that could lead to similar proposals.

The applicant, Paul Bateman, wants to build a house on land between Sherborne Road and Wolburn Close on the Broadmead estate.

A diagram from the Design and Access Statement supporting Paul Bateman's planning application. (Image: Wiltshire Council)

Cllr Jo Trigg, who has called in the application, said: “When the original estate was built it incorporated many green spaces and these are normally handed over to the local council.

“But what happened was that the developer kept hold of the ownership of the land and together with the council created a section 52 agreement to protect them.

“It is basically an in-perpetuity document that says no matter who owns the land, no matter which council is in existence to maintain the land, that will go on and on.

“But the original property developer sold the land about three years ago and the company that now owns it is splitting that land up.

“Unfortunately, the current landowner is selling individual plots, and they are coming up for sale at lots of different auction houses.

“All of the plots of green space have section 52 agreements on them, saying that green space is to be protected in perpetuity as amenity land for the residents of the estate.

“Every time a new piece of land appears, it feels like I am playing whack-a-mole.”

In the Design & Access Statement, submitted on the applicant's behalf by Nathan Woodward, of BPB Architects in Bristol, it states: "England is currently facing a housing shortage and small undeveloped sites such as this one should be better utilised to provide additional housing for families.

"This site is within an established residential area and benefits from being in close proximity to local amenities with a bus stop directly across the road.

"Local Authorities across the country are selling these small portions of land to avoid the associated maintenance costs and general upkeep.

"This provides small scale developers the opportunity to provide additional housing on sites at no cost to the Local Authority.

"The proposed dwelling seeks to be in keeping in terms of materiality, scale and form with a small contemporary twist through larger windows.

"Based on the above we believe planning should be granted."

Last November, around 80 Broadmead residents attended a protest meeting at the Wiltshire Yeoman pub to raise concerns about plots being sold.

Cllr Trigg also raised concerns about the planning application at a Trowbridge Town Council meeting on Tuesday, July 23, saying: “The council should object to this as it is contrary to a section 52 agreement.”

“The current planning application is the first to come through and it is a bit of a tester. I am quietly confident that it will be refused on August 9.

“The person applying for permission won’t be able to build on it without the section 52 being discharged and that is not impossible but highly unlikely.

“We need this planning application to go through the legal cycle and see what comes out.”

Objecting to plans, the council said: “The loss of the application site to an infill housing plot would conflict with the s52 agreement and would urbanise part of the strategically designed open green space that characterises the Broadmead Estate.”