A PUBLIC examination into the Chippenham Site Allocation Plan (CSAP) which will determine future development in the town up until 2026 has been re-opened.

The inquiry was suspended by inspector Patrick Whitehead in November last year on the grounds that Wiltshire Council had not supplied enough evidence.

Re-opening the hearing at Chippenham Town Hall on Tuesday, Mr Whitehead said: “You will recall I suspended the examination but not because I found it unsound but I had some concerns with the adequacy of the evidence base.

“I may conclude that the plan is sound and recommend it, or I may recommend that it’s not adopted.”

The hearing is due to take place for two weeks and will cover a number of issues, including the site selection process, modifications from the original submitted plan and site visits.

The re-submitted plan was almost thrown out again on the first day of the new hearing, after barrister Ian Ponter, representing property developer Robert Hitchins, claimed it should be withdrawn.

“It amounts to a virtual re-writing which means it should be withdrawn, the volume of changes proposed by the council is extensive,” he said.

“For those reasons we say that we should invite the council to withdraw these plans.”

Responding, Mr Whitehead said: “If the local authority were to withdraw the plan we would be back at square one. I think it’s better to go ahead than to insist the plan is withdrawn at this stage.”

Significant changes to the plan include the complete removal of the Eastern development and Eastern Link Road, which were discussed by the hearing yesterday.

Also discussed was the Rawlings Green development, which was approved by five votes to three earlier this month to allow 700 homes to be built on the site.

According to the Wiltshire Core Strategy, about 5,090 new homes should be provided in the Chippenham area and ‘at least’ 4,510 of these should be at Chippenham.

About 2,625 of these homes should be identified in strategic sites, which include Hunters Moon, South West Chippenham, Rawlings Green and North Chippenham.

The South West Chippenham site was discussed during the meeting on Wednesday, and according to Carolyn Gibson, manager of spatial planning at Wiltshire Council, it is recognised as a ‘priority site’ for employment development.