55 more houses approved for Blunsdon
Nearly six years after it first lodged the application, developer Bellway Homes has been given the go-ahead to build 55 houses in Blunsdon
Nearly six years after it first lodged the application, developer Bellway Homes has been given the go-ahead to build 55 houses in Blunsdon.
The proposals, which were approved by Swindon Borough Council’s planning committee, will see 55 houses built on what is now a smallholding behind 12 Turnpike Road, running parallel with the A419.
Houses could be concentrated in rows largely in the centre and northern and southern ends of the site, leaving gardens and green spaces to screen the houses from the road.
A playground for young children is also mentioned, and the application promises 30 per cent of the homes would be affordable housing.
Speaking on behalf of Bellway, the company’s planning agent David Fovargue said: “Bellway put in this application for permission in 2019 in response to an appeal from Swindon Borough Council for deliverable sites in the control of the builder to meet the housing needs of Swindon.
“Those needs remain unmet. Swindon’s residents need more houses.”
Mr Fovargue said the council had identified the site as suitable for new houses in its new draft local plan and that 30 per cent of the houses would be affordable.
But local councillors and residents were against the proposals especially as they follow hard on the heels of an approval for 125 houses further south on Turnpike Road, and 100 homes in the village at Sams Lane.
Councillor Vijay Manro said the traffic from the new houses would have a significant impact on traffic at the Cold Harbour Junction on the B4019 Broad Bush road through the village.
Chairman of Blunsdon Parish Council Ian Jankinson told the committee that the development would add pressure to the roads and added: “Turnpike Road is heavily used and semi-industrial, it serves businesses along it.
“There are 35 HGV licenses granted for the road and it out number one speed watch site in Blunsdon.”
Cllr Jankinson mentioned the two recent approvals of other housing developments, saying the village was growing faster than the infrastructure can cope.
Councillor Gary Sumner on the committee who raised concerns about the capacity of the primary school at the previous meeting which approved the 225 earlier houses, repeated those concerns.
The proposals were approved with only one member of the committee voting against the proposal.
The consent is in outline only, with only access to the site determined.
A new full application giving details of the lay-out and design of the houses and any landscaping will have to be submitted, and approved, before significant work can start on the site.