LANDOWNERS want to cash in by building hundreds of extra homes throughout the city, many of them on greenfield sites.

Wiltshire Council’s core strategy identified a need for an extra 6,060 homes in Salisbury by 2026.

But now that figure has been increased by 625, sparking a rush of landowners putting forward plots for consideration.

Some housebuilders are even submitting land that does not belong to them.

Major sites recently added to the council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) include land around Salisbury Hospital and around the Harnham Trading Estate.

The council is also set to look at sites in Wilton, East Harnham and Old Sarum, including the Raymond McEnhill Stadium.

Last week, a controversial proposal to build 100 homes at Britford Lane was announced and detailed plans are expected later this year.

Bishop Wordsworth’s School playing field, which adjoins the Britford Lane site, has also been put forward, despite the school saying it has no intention to sell.

The bus depot in Castle Street, the gas works, another large plot at the end of Britford Lane and a large field in Wilton, currently used for the town’s Sheep Fair, are also being considered.

Wilton town clerk Catherine Purves said councillors had “serious reservations” over development of the Sheep Fair Field, owned by Wiltshire Council.

It is understood no planning applications have been submitted so it is not yet clear how many houses each site could hold.

Wiltshire officers have been consulting informally with parish councils in recent weeks and will publish their preferred options for formal consultation in July.

The finished plan will be sent to the government for consideration in December.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “It’s important to stress that the council could face the prospect of a planning application at any stage, on any piece of land, irrespective of whether or not a plan has been prepared.

“The benefit of preparing a plan for the delivery of housing is that it allows the council to exercise a degree of certainty over where such development will take place.”

Around 1,600 of the 6,060 houses have already been built in the Salisbury area.

To read the reaction to the proposal for 100 houses at Britford Lane, see page 6. For more information, visit wiltshire.gov.uk and search for Housing Site Allocations.