Another phase of “emergency” roofing repairs has been approved for Cricklade Manor Prep School after defective gutters have resulted in decay and damage.
This will be the second stage of repairs to the listed building, that dates back to around 1700.
It was converted into a boarding school in 1947 and has been an independent, “high-achieving” nursery and prep school since 2017, charging up to £4,835 per term.
After structural repairs to the roof of the south annexe were approved in 2023, this latest application focuses on the repair of “defective” perimeter roof gutters to the north and south elevations of the principal range of the building.
The application stated: “It is evident that perimeter lead lined gutters were not fit for purpose at the time of their original construction and that bitumen was applied in the vain hope of making the gutters more weathertight.”
It added: “All rainwater goods in this area are in very poor condition, undersized, corroding and require repair and replacement.”
The work is described as “urgently necessary structural and waterproofing repairs”, and Wiltshire Council has given the prep school the green light to get started.
Nearby, in Royal Wootton Basset, a different listed building is set to become a nursery.
Wiltshire Council has approved plans for the conversion of 18th century Lime Kiln House.
It is currently being used as an office and, according to the application, most alterations will be made in the northern wing where there is no historical interest, allowing “the listed building to remain in keeping as much as possible.”
The heritage statement found that the proposed use of the building as a nursery for children represented a “beneficial use”.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Trowbridge, We Buy Any Car has applied for permission to construct an office building in the car park of Trowbridge Rugy Football Club.
The office will be open every day of the week and will allow members of the public to sell their cars to the company.
According to the application, the vehicles will be stored in the car park temporarily until they are moved off site.
The consultation on these plans is open until the end of August and Wiltshire Council should make a decision by Monday, September 23.
Down in Mere, the Duchy of Cornwall has applied to remove part of a hedgerow for safer access through a field entrance on land belonging to the Duchy.
The application states: “Currently the land is farmed by two separate tenants and is known as Land at Southbrook and Land at Mill Lane.
“There is access via Southbrook road to one block of land known as Land at Southbrook.
“However the other block of land is accessed through the housing development behind The Walnut Tree via Walnut Road.
“This is dangerous for children playing and access is not always possible due to cars parked on the road as machinery can't get around these cars.
“An alternate access is via Mill Lane but this is too narrow for farm machinery.
“We are proposing to remove part of the hedgerow to create a field entrance so access can be taken via Southbrook road and through the fields to the Land at Mill Lane which will be safer and cause less disruption to the housing development.”
Close by in Zeals, an existing nursery has been given permission to extend its premises to help meet the demand for additional child places in south west Wiltshire.
The Leaping Frogs Day Nursery currently accommodates 85 children every day and its recently approved new room will provide an additional 15 to 18 places for babies under two years old.
The nursery estimates that this will service an extra 30 to 40 families, as not all children attend every day.
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