PROTESTERS – including a man who brought along a boat to highlight fears over flooding – were not enough to persuade Wiltshire Council that Chippenham could not cope with 2,500 new homes.

Ian Humphrey and his rubber boat and scores of other worried people waving banners tried to tell councillors that the huge increase in houses would bring traffic chaos and flooding.

But first cabinet members last Thursday and then the full council on Tuesday backed plans that will see massive growth in the town over the next decade and beyond.

Mr Humphrey, from Monkton Park, said: "I think the development paper for Chippenham has not been sufficiently thought through in terms of volume, infrastructure and flooding and is fundamentally unsound."

Fellow Monkton Park resident Andy Stevenson said: "I have serious concerns about flooding and the lack of detail, and the proper assessment of the impact for the east side of Chippenham."

Wiltshire councillor Chris Caswill was delighted with the number of protesters but worried about the decision. He said: "It’s really good that residents came in large numbers to make their point. The thing that people are really talking about here is they cannot believe they are going to put the traffic of 650 homes down Station Hill.

"This is about evidence, not what people think, and the evidence base is seriously flawed in many directions."

The Chippenham Site Allocations Plan outlines three proposed strategic sites on the edge of town and 28 hectares of land set aside for employment growth by 2026 to meet the requirement set by the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

The land earmarked for housing includes huge swathes of open land north of the town and then sweeping round to the east to Rawlings Green and south to Hunters Moon.

The proposed developments include country parks along the River Avon, completion of an eastern link road between the A350 to the north and the A4 to the south of Chippenham in a bid to help traffic flow in the town centre and new primary schools.

Toby Sturgis, cabinet member for strategic planning, said: "The Environment Agency has no objections in principle to the Chippenham Development Plan Document.

"This plan in their view is sound and it’s possible to mitigate the flood risk. If they had said it was not sound we would not have brought it forward. These robust plans will ensure future growth in the town. Development will be focused towards the town’s least sensitive areas in terms of landscape and ecology, and there will be improved access to significant areas of open space for the town via the river corridor.

"The housing development will be phased to allow completion of critical pieces of transport infrastructure helping tackle congestion."

The plan will now be submitted to the Secretary of State for full examination.