Local Plan: Britford resident concerned about Downton Road development

Land north of the A338 Downton Road has been pushed forward in Wiltshire Council's Local Plan as a greenfield site that could have 220 new dwellings built upon it.

The council's cabinet endorsed the Local Plan at a meeting on Tuesday, July 11, which means it can now be considered by Full Council on July 18 before a public consultation in the autumn.

Any comments made about the plan during the consultation period must focus on whether the proposed sites meet the ‘tests of soundness’ and shouldn’t focus on whether or not the respondent or a community likes or dislikes a particular site.

Victoria Sturgeon lives next to one of the proposed sites and voiced her frustration with how the process has been handled.

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Ms Sturgeon moved to the area six years ago and submitted a 7,000-word document in 2021 explaining why the local plan review was "not sound"

She said: "This particular site was deemed completely unsuitable five years ago and I can’t quite see what has changed."

This greenfield site off Downton Road has been included in the Local Plan. (Image: Salisbury Journal)

Traffic and transport are among the main causes for concern, Ms Sturgeon added: "I think it is going to make the roads go completely mad with traffic pollution."

Vehicles queue up to Bodenham during peak times, buses are "expensive and very infrequent" and infrastructure serving all villages must be put in place, according to Ms Sturgeon.

"What is so frustrating about this very undemocratic process is that the public is told to get involved in the public consultation but by that point, it is too late. It is not going to make any strategic difference."

The plan states that greenspace will "ensure separation and distinctiveness" between Salisbury and Britford. 

See more: ​Wiltshire Council Cabinet approves local plan for more than 1k homes

It adds that traffic from the site is likely to affect city centre air quality, which Ms Sturgeon is concerned about.

She said: "We all know that poor air quality is detrimental to public health.

"No one disputes the need for housing but what they are proposing is not going to promote a thriving economy. Salisbury is a flood plain and there is an immensely fragile balance to strike."

The plans come six months after work started on building 640 new homes on Netherhampton Road, Harnham.

Recap

Seven sites around Salisbury have been provisionally allocated for development including: 

• 350 new homes close to the Portway site near Old Sarum
• 100 houses on land north of the Beehive Park and Ride site 
• 220 houses on land north of Downton Road 
• 265 dwellings on land south of Harnham
• 45 dwellings on land west of Coombe Road
• 60 dwellings on land at Netherhampton Road Garden Centre
• 50 dwellings on land at Church Road, Laverstock

Wiltshire Council's last consultation on the Local Plan, which assesses the developments needed until 2038, took place in 2021.