PLANS for more than 100 homes in Lyneham have been rejected by Wiltshire Council on the grounds that it would be harmful to the rural area and that insufficient infrastructures are in place.

Submitted by Gleeson, the development was for 111 homes to be built at Pound Farm but Wiltshire Council refused the application yesterday (April 14).

Reasons for refusal included that it ‘would have a harmful impact on the rural character and appearance of the locality’ that it ‘would provide an unsustainable level of housing in a rural area and would not be in line with the objectives of the Wiltshire Core Strategy’.

Locals had been left outraged when a letter in support of the application was approved by Lyneham and Bradenstoke Parish Council last month.

Lyneham resident Richard Marshall said: “This is a great day for Lyneham’s green fields, local government planning, and for democracy.

Unlike Lyneham and Bradenstoke Parish Council who supported this unnecessary and unwanted massive development, Wiltshire Council stood by the principles in their excellent planning document, the Core Strategy.

“Wiltshire Council have today saved Lyneham’s rural character.”

For more on this, pick up a copy of next week’s Gazette and Herald.