Great Somerford plans by Ashford Homes has villagers furious

Developers Ashford Homes have recently put in an outline bid to build nine houses on Dauntsey Road which has caught the ire of Great Somerford residents.

Pete Hutchins, 64, who lives opposite the proposed development said that everyone in the village is dead set against the plans, including the parish council.

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“The land floods during the winter,” he said. “There’s one house on either side of the land and they’ve experienced flooding in the winter.

“The road is narrow and it’s on a blind bend. So there are many things wrong with the application and on top of that the developer has put a great big sign up saying that work is going to start in the autumn.

“They haven’t even got planning permission yet.”

Ashford Homes signage in Great Somerford

The parish council also flagged its concerns over the proposed development. In a statement, it said: “The site of the proposed development is only a short distance from the village primary school and the inevitable increase in traffic volume will present an increase in danger to the users of the school that if not properly mitigated for, will be unacceptable to the parish council.”

The parish council echoed Mr Hutchins’ statements on road safety adding that if construction vehicles were allowed to park on the road it would further heighten safety risks.

Another resident, Sarah Brunskill, who said the village was in danger of losing its “quiet charm”, added: “This village currently has two large developments under construction and the total number of properties way exceeds that outlined in the Neighbourhood Plan.”

Mr Hutchins also told the Gazette both he and the parish council had written to Wiltshire Council to arrange a meeting over the influx of developments.

Location plan for the Ashford Homes development in Great Somerford

Deputy leader of the council, Laura Mayes said: “The planning permission for the development of nine houses at this site was approved with conditions in November 2020, while the current application concerns the approval of details for the development.

“Wiltshire Council is England’s third largest planning authority in terms of the volume of applications we process, and at present our officers are focusing on dealing with the larger than normal number of applications that have been received so far this year.

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“For this reason, we currently do not have capacity for site meetings with third parties to discuss detailed matters, although we always give serious consideration to any representations made to the Council that raise valid points about an application.”

A spokesman for Ashford Homes said extra drainage tests were done to determine the best strategy for the site.

They added: “This includes plans to undertake works to repair and unblock sections of the existing culvert which does not currently function as designed.

“The access has been designed exactly in accordance with that already approved under outline application 19/07459/OUT.”