Planning application 20/00379/OUT
by Graham Hill
Things are still rumbling on for all three of the H2 sites between Trowbridge and Southwick.
Currently application 18/10034/OUT for site H2.4 at Church Lane and application 20/09659/FUL for site H2.5 at Upper Studley are closed for comments but they have been “called in”. This means that the decision to go forwards is no longer in the hands of the Lead Officer, but that any decision must be taken by the planning Committee which is made up of Wiltshire Councillors.
At a Committee meeting there is a further opportunity to make representations and the committee then vote on whether to accept or reject the Officer’s recommendation to approve permission. These generally go the way of the recommendation, but there is good evidence that a strong case can lead to rejection.
The period of public consultation following the resubmission of Application 20/00379/OUT for site H2.6 at Southwick Court is still underway and will be until the 14th of March. Usually, there are fewer comments and objections on a resubmission than there were on the original submission and, in general, the planning department understands this reduction in the number of objections to mean that the objections have been withdrawn and that people who previously objected are now content with the proposal.
If your objection has not been answered, you will need to make it again. If you do not want this string of developments to happen please take the time to write a sentence or two and submit it. Tell your friends and neighbours the same thing and get as many unique submissions as possible registered on the site. If we can maintain or increase the numbers of objections to this resubmission, even if they are only a sentence or two, we add weight to our argument.
The easiest way to comment is to fill in the councils online pro-forma. You can send a pdf by email to Developmentmanagement@wiltshire.gov.uk but you will need to include all the information that the proforma asks for if your comment is to be accepted. This will take less than five minutes to write and submit and will add to the argument further down the line.
Do NOT send your objection to anybody else; in the past people have written to Cabinet members or to their MP and assumed that this will then be registered as an objection but this is not so. It does no harm to do that as well, but is wasted effort in terms of registering a formal objection with the planning department.
So far, we have made all three of these applications look weak and poorly reasoned and we can continue doing that. We have strong, reasoned arguments that are difficult to ignore and some pretty heavyweight support; this ribbon of development is far from settled, despite what some people think
Take care, stay safe .
Graham leads a local protest group at protest@upperstudley.net
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 
I would support Graham in that your say is very important. The fact that you read this website shows that you are interested in the environment. Every bit of new information which comes out in the media supports the notion that a good environment, in which we can get close to nature, is beneficial to our physical and mental health. Few of us these days have large gardens in which we can lose ourselves. Most people need to get out into fields and woodland. “Landscaping” around houses is generally not good enough. It is just land left over from the developer’s needs.
So please look at the planning website of the Southwick Court application and let Wiltshire Council know your views. You do not need to use technical language. You have as much right to express your views as anyone.