Protest over homes plan (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Protest over homes plan

3:32pm Friday 25th August 2006 in Malmesbury By Gordon Simpson

MALMESBURY town councillors have slated plans to build a 38-home development near the site of a new primary school.

They say it would be put the safety of pupils at risk.

Persimmon Homes has put the plans forward. Part of the deal is that if it gets the OK for the scheme, the firm will give cash towards building the new school.

The Tetbury Hill development would replace much of the existing Malmesbury Primary School buildings, Cartmell Youth Centre and Persimmon House.

The new school - which will cost more than £3 million - would be build on open land behind the houses.

Access to the school would be through the entrance to the housing development.

It was this that stuck in the craw of the town council's planning committee when it met last Tuesday.

Councillors pointed out that the area was already an accident hot-spot.

Nine-year-old pupil Daniel Gould had to be airlifted to hospital with a fractured leg last month after being struck by a car on the pedestrian crossing on Gloucester Road.

The committee agreed that there were already too many distractions for motorists in the area and the development would only create new ones.

They said encouraging children to walk or cycle in the area would end up doing more harm than good.

Coun Martin Snell said: "I oppose any development whatsoever in front of the school with a road access into it.

"I will oppose anything put before me until I've got a firm agreement on road safety aspects on the whole of that area.

"I wouldn't send a child of mine anywhere near there on a pushbike and that's what the county council is encouraging."

Coun John Bowen added: "We want to get a primary school, but not at the cost of the safety of the children attending it."

Coun Andrew Woodcock said: "I'm totally against this. It's far too much development in there. It's a very tight area."

Coun Ray Sanderson said: "I'm totally against the access to the school.

"The pedestrian crossing is, in my opinion, the most dangerous I have seen in my driving career.

"The only solution as far as I'm concerned is that the pedestrian crossing needs to be moved completely away from the location it's in now.

"Parking is going to be a phenomenal problem.

"Access to the site and the pedestrian crossing needs serious looking at."

Coun Sanderson also said he was concerned that people who moved into the homes might complain about the use of floodlights at Malmesbury Victoria Football Club, which is next to the development.

Coun Glyn Davies said: "The development is too close to the football club and Somerfield store given the necessary operations of those two facilities."