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The row over the Linden Homes estate on Chippenham's Cocklebury Road reached fever pitch last night as councillors voted in favour of the developer.

More than 40 residents stormed the meeting to decide whether permission should be granted after the developer exceeded the agreed height of the buildings.

Councillors heard that at three points along the development the height of the buildings were up to a metre above what they had previously permitted.

After admitting they made a mistake, Linden Homes applied for retrospective planning permission, which would allow the developer to carry on with the current design.

Coun Chris Caswell, of the Monkton Park Ward, accused the company of "legal trickery".

He said: "They know all too well that the council would be clobbered with heavy costs if it decided that the building should come down.

"Is it really that difficult to stick to original plans? It should not be one rule for the big developers who could give the council a good legal kicking and another for everyone who abides by the rules."

However, Coun Caswell stood in the minority, with a final vote of 10-5 in favour of granting the planning permission.

If the development control committee had refused the permission, the buildings would have almost certainly been torn down.

Council officers stated that because the building was timber-based, the roof couldn't be lifted without the structure collapsing.

Committee member Toby Sturgis, who voted in favour of the application, said: "I have walked along the site and, to be honest, you cannot tell the difference.

"We have to be proportionate and just because they have made a number of small changes they do not amount to one big fault.

"These discrepancies are not that great and I still believe this is a flagship development for the future."

Linden Homes were also accused of a catalogue of other amendments to the original plans, including the use of clear glazing instead of frosted, raised window sills, additional drain pipes and more timber cladding.

At the meeting Toby Ballard from Linden Homes said: "We would like to apologise for this genuine mistake which we are extremely embarrassed about.

"The buildings are almost 100 per cent complete with residents waiting to move in. We have already corrected some of the buildings to a cost of more than £70,000.

"Despite this issue we are still very proud of what we have built."

As Mr Ballard began to speak, residents furiously booed and heckled the developer until they were asked to stop by chairman John Thompson.

After the decision had been made, one resident said: "This stinks of corruption; someone somewhere has been hoodwinked."

Another added: "I am completely dumbfounded; this is a complete injustice."

10:59am Thursday 2nd August 2007

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