Campaigners battling to protect Birds’ Marsh woods from housing development say they are disappointed by Chippenham Town Council’s refusal to support their application for village green status.

The town council’s planning and environment committee backed the application at a meeting in October but at a full meeting of the town council on November 28 councillors voted against supporting it.

Developers want to build 750 houses, industrial units and a primary school on land around Birds’ Marsh woods.

The land is in Wiltshire Council’s draft Core Strategy as a potential site for building on.
Campaign group The Friends of Birds’ Marsh have submitted a bid to Wiltshire Council to designate the woods and the surrounding fields as a village green, which would give it greater protection from development.

Eight members of the Friends attended the full Chippenham Town Council are were surprised that councillors went against the town council’s planning and environment committee’s recommendation of support.

The voting was 11 against, seven in favour with four abstentions. Town councillors were told by officers that to support the application it would need to be corroborated with evidence held by the town council and it did not have that.

Pete Humphrey, chairman of the Friends, said: “We offered the town council photocopies of the witness statements from people who said they have used Birds’ Marsh for a number of years.

“We know the majority of the residents of the town support the application and there are a lot of town councillors who support it. It would have been nice to have the town council’s support but it’s not essential. The application for village green status will be judged in isolation from the Core Strategy.”

Town council leader Andrew Noblet voted against the village green bid and said: “I voted against it because the developers have said quite clearly that they will protect Birds’ Marsh wood and enhance it and have a visitor centre.

“The map shown to us by Mr Humphrey had a lot of land in it and if that became common land then the development of the 750 houses on that area would be put in jeopardy. I’m in favour of preserving Birds’ Marsh but I am not in favour of turning the whole area into common land.”