Scheme for 200 new homes and shops rejected by councillors

PLANS for up to 200 new homes in Devizes have been rejected by the council.

Wiltshire councillors voted against a proposal for up to 200 homes on land by the river, off Coate Road, in a meeting on November 3 in Trowbridge Town Hall.

The application also included room for shops, a takeaway and a “drinking establishment” but it faced fierce opposition from local residents and town councillors.

Councillors argued the proposed area was outside the development sites allocated in the Neighbourhood Plan and so should not be allowed.

Wiltshire councillor Kelvin Nash warned if this development was allowed “houses would just spill over into the green corridor between Devizes and the Area Of Natural Beauty”.

He said: “We would see an unstoppable flow of new developments all the way up the hill.”

He added: “We’re not against development but it must be in the right place. This is not the right place.”

Developers Robert Hitchins Ltd argued in the plans: “The proposals respect the local character but also move the community towards a more sustainable future, through an increase in housing choice.”