WILTSHIRE Council has been left red-faced after it was forced to withdraw its own planning application to demolish a toilet block in Chippenham – because it was the wrong type of application.

The closed Bath Road toilet block in Chippenham is still owned by Wiltshire Council after the town council decided not to take on running it earlier this year.

Now plans to demolish the loos have had to be put on hold.

“They put in the wrong kind of application, it’s hard to believe really,” said Wiltshire Councillor Chris Caswill, who represents Monkton ward where the toilets are.

“When I looked at the application I thought it was a bit odd as it was a prior notification application.

“I did a little bit of homework and came across something indicating that because they were applying to knock down one of their own buildings in a conservation area it was the wrong application.

“I contacted the council’s top lawyer, Ian Gibbons, and said I was concerned that this is not being dealt with in the right way.

“They contacted me and basically said, ‘yes you’re right’, it seemed inconceivable to me that they wouldn’t get it right.”

Wiltshire Council will now have to submit a full planning application in order to demolish the toilet block, which will include a three-week consultation and could take months to be approved. Chippenham Town Councillor Nina Phillips put forward a motion last night (Wednesday, October 26) to the strategy and resources committee, asking that the town council work in partnership with local businesses to save the toilets.

Councillors agreed that it was something which needed to be looked into again.

“It’s going to take a couple of months for this application to come through which will give us more time to find a solution,” added Coun Caswill.

“I have the opportunity to call it in to go to a committee, so it’s good news.

“If the town council can’t afford to do this on their own they need to try and put together some kind of partnership perhaps with businesses and the BID.

“It ought to be possible to put something together.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “We have withdrawn the demolition prior approval application, and will be submitting a full planning application for the toilets and canopies along Bath Road.”