I have just attended, as an observer, the Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee and witnessed them grant outline planning consent for the development of 50,000 sq meters of commercial buildings at Showells Farm, south west of Chippenham.

This was against the advice of their own highways officers who are concerned about the disruption to traffic on the A350, and despite the fact that examination in public of the council’s Core Strategy is in its final stages and the inspector’s report is expected this autumn.

Two earlier attempts to obtain planning consent on this site were refused on appeal on account of its unsustainable location remote from the town centre.

There was discussion among the committee members concerning transport issues, and whether or not the decision should be deferred until after the inspector’s report but both votes, firstly to defer the application and secondly to refuse it, were defeated six to five. Permission was then granted, again by six to five.

What was most shocking to the outside observer was that there was no discussion whatsoever on the pros and cons of developing this site, and the impact such a decision would have on the town of Chippenham and the wider community.

There is strong planning directive to reduce the need to travel by car and to support town centres, yet this this development with a significant office content and located as it is on the ring road making it entirely car dependent, was granted permission with no discussion on these aspects.

All these matters were debated at great length in front of the planning inspector over the two and a half days devoted to Chippenham at his recent hearings. This involved very many people and cost hundreds of thousands of pounds and the inspector is now writing his report.

He is required to judge whether the council’s Core Strategy, which includes this site, is legally robust and whether the decisions relating to matters such as site selection are based on sound and reliable evidence. He heard many people argue that this is not the case but, by granting consent before his report is available, his findings will potentially be severely compromised. It is hard to see how this can be seen as good planning and I hope that the Secretary of State will agree with our concerns and intervene.

Owen Inskip, Chippenham 2020.