15342/4GAZETTE & HERALD: Slaughterford villagers are celebrating victory in the long-running campaign to protect a former paper mill in the tiny hamlet from development.

Campaigners were cracking open the champagne as news came through yesterday that Government-appointed planning inspector Graham Cundale had dismissed all three appeals lodged by Countryside Residential (South West) Limited.

The developers had put forward two schemes for the Dowding Paper Mill site one for nine homes and one for 14 homes as well as a proposal to partly demolish the paper mill. But after an 11-day inquiry earlier this year the inspector supported the decision of the district council and threw out the three appeals.

Slaughterford resident and campaigner Alison Butler, who represented the Slaughterford Protection Group at the inquiry, said: "I am only just taking it in. I am absolutely elated. The campaign has taken thousands of hours of work, and we could not have done it without the support of everyone writing, fundraising and rallying round.

"It was just so glaringly obvious this wasn't the right place for such a development and somebody had to make a stand."

The main reason the inspector dismissed the appeal was because the schemes did not comply with the Development Plan and did not meet the objectives of sustainable development.

He said since the last appeal to develop the site in 1999 the importance of sustainability had grown in scope. He pointed out that the site was outside the limits of the village, had poor access to community facilities, and the three, four and five-bedroom houses proposed would be expensive and would not be conducive to social cohesion and inclusion in the community.

The inspector also concluded that both appeal schemes would be detrimental to the character and appearance of the area, though he did not think it would cause serious harm to the Nature Conservation site.

He decided the appeal schemes would little benefit road safety but would provide a benefit in terms of traffic flow and convenience, when compared with the use of the site for employment. Mr Cundale was not convinced, however, the benefits of clearing up the industrial contamination to make way for housing outweighed the harm the housing would create.

North Wiltshire District Councillor, Doreen Darby, ward councillor for the site, said: "I am absolutely thrilled. This is the best news and it has come so quickly.

"I hope the developers will realise that it's the wrong place for housing, and the kind of housing being proposed. It's such a magical place, I just hope they will leave it be."

Veteran campaigner John Perkins, who has been fighting off development of the site for 11 years, said: "I still haven't quite taken it on board yet. We've had wonderful backing from everyone."