A MAJOR 1,250-home development for Salisbury is to go before a planning committee today.

The outline proposal for a new estate on 75 hectares of farm land north west of Fugglestone Red and Bemerton Heath includes a business park, a community centre, a primary school and a cemetery.

The application, by Persimmon Homes Ltd and Pegasus Planning Group, is recommended for approval by planning officers but it has been met with concern by many residents.

The council has received 27 letters of objection and only one in support, from Sarum Academy.

The only element of the overall proposal that Wiltshire Council’s southern area planning committee will be considering in detail tonight will be the access roads to the site from Devizes Road and The Avenue.

Concerns raised over the plan include the location of the business park close to the housing, an increase in traffic and noise and light pollution.

The site is allocated for employment and housing use within the South Wiltshire Core Strategy and officers say if the committee decided not to grant permission, an alternative site for 1,250 houses and eight hectares of employment land would need to be found elsewhere in the city.

Persimmon held several meetings with council officers and a public exhibition early last year before submitting the application.

The application will be considered at a meeting of Wiltshire Council’s southern area planning committee at Salisbury City Hall at 6pm.

l The developers have also submitted a separate application for a new 2.1 hectare cemetery with access from The Avenue.

The cemetery is supported by Wilton Town and Salisbury City councils although there are some objections, with one respondent asking for restrictions to prevent the erosion of the natural countryside while another did not object to the cemetery in principle but didn’t think it was a sensible location on such a busy junction.