Malmesbury residents put the wind up developers

Yesterday, developers walked away from from an open planning meeting to which they had been invited by Malmesbury Town Council on the 14th September. Gleeson had agreed to attend the Town Council Planning Committee which was open to the public, but have now said that they 'are not ready to engage (with the public) on matters of detail'.

This is despite their plans being in existence for over a year.

In November 2009 Wiltshire Council held a public exhibition in Malmesbury to gather feedback on its draft 2026 Wiltshire Core Strategy. The results of this consultation were published in August 2010. The Local Community's feedback on the Council's proposals to build 200 houses on the Filands site was almost universally negative. It has since transpired that the 200 houses is but the first phase in Gleeson's plans for Filands and Whychurch fields.

Malmesbury, which has seen a housing increase of 26% in six years, faces considerable pressure from increased development. Considerations include education, health care capacity, employment for an expanded population, traffic and parking, conservation and the irreversible loss of farmland.

Malmesbury & St Paul's Without Residents' Association which has been behind a local campaign to make known the true extent of plans to develop between 800 and 1000 houses in the town is still encouraging the citizens of Malmesbury to attend the meeting on the 14th. The Town Council's Planning Committee Meeting offers members of the public the opportunity to question planning issues in the town. The Residents Association, in line with new Government proposals to give local people and communities far more ability to determine the shape of the place in which they live, strongly believes that the local community should take this opportunity to express their views.