IN GREAT Somerford, for three reasons, we could (in a worst scenario) be faced with the possibility of more than 100 houses being built at both ends of, and within, the village in a fairly short timeframe. 
This would increase the number of houses by about 30 per cent and the population by up to 45 per cent. Not a satisfactory outcome for our Neighbourhood Plan, and a recipe for chaos.
Firstly, the Great Somerford Neighbourhood Plan, which has been in preparation since 2014, has proposed 35 sites on brownfield and greenfield land in the village as suitable for development. 
Following detailed preparation, a lot of hard work by the Steering Group, and consultations in the village, the plan is due to be examined at a public hearing on March 22. Depending on the decision of the examiner, it is then recommended, or not, for a referendum. I would encourage residents of Great Somerford to attend the hearing, details of which are in The Signpost.
Secondly, in April 2015, Gleeson Strategic Planning notified our parish council of proposals to develop a recently vacated largely brownfield site at Broadfield Farm on the southern outskirts of the village. 
This was during the latter stages of the plan’s preparation and, it has been suggested, was an attempt to undermine our Neighbourhood Plan. 
The proposals were rejected by Wiltshire Council on the basis that the development would not be sustainable, and that it was not in accordance with the Wiltshire Core Strategy. Due to the lateness of Gleeson’s intervention, we locals were not consulted on the proposals. 
Nevertheless, following a presentation to the village in September 2016, Gleeson has, not unexpectedly, submitted a planning application for 41 houses and the closing date for comments from the public is March 23, the day after the above public hearing.
Thirdly, originating from 2004 there is a planning consent, not yet implemented, for 30 houses at Brook Farm, on the northern edge of the village.
It is, of course, important we have a Neighbourhood Plan in order that we have some say on determining where development should take place. But surely it should have been reconciled with the possibility of the Gleeson development at Broadfield Farm, on which, in the context of the plan, the community have not had the opportunity to comment.
CHRISTOPHER BLOUNT
Great Somerford