Walk now in Chippenham while you still can (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Walk now in Chippenham while you still can

9:00am Saturday 12th May 2012 in Chippenham

Planning permission may have been submitted to build 750 homes south of Birds Marsh Woods in Chippen-ham, but a band of opponents will still hold a walk around the area on Sunday.

The Birds Marsh Welly Walk, which takes place each spring and autumn, aims to show what could be lost if the land close by is developed.

If permission is granted to the North Chippenham Consortium, made up of Barratt Developments, Per-simmon Homes and Heron Land, the site would also include 12,710 sqm of employment land, a local centre, a primary school and a link road.

Organiser Pete Humphrey, part of the Friends of Birds Marsh group, says the time to see the site is now because development could change the woods forever.

“At a recent meeting with the consortium, it was revealed that they plan to build a seven-and-a-half metre wide road within about 60 metres of the edge of the wood, which is very close indeed,” he said.

The plans for the land include a green buffer separating the development from Birds Marsh wood, and a management strategy for the wood, in association with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

A spokesman for the North Chippenham Consortium said the site has been included as a preferred option in Wiltshire’s draft core strategy document for development until 2026.

The welly walk is on Sunday at 10.30am, with walkers meeting at the Tale of Spice on Malmesbury Road. To view the plans, visit Wiltshire Council’s website, using application number 12/00560/OUT.