With regard to Jill Crooks’ article on page 5 “Homes refusal was wrong”. This application to build cannot be called sustainable or reasonable, because this piece of land is not “off Windsor Drive”, it is in Bishops Cannings, whereas Windsor Drive is in Devizes.

Devizes residents would like it to be a “self-contained town” to quote a local councillor. If this building of 350 houses were to take place, how long would it be before houses were being built up the dual carriageway, over beautiful and picturesque downland walks and farmland where our food is being grown? The two fields in question were completely under water, both last year and this year. Would anyone want a house built on a flood plain? Scant attention seems to have been paid to the wildlife, a breeding pair of little owls for several years, also a buzzard.

We are told by Devizes Guardians, some of them elected councillors, to a packed Town Hall, that Devizes has had twice the number of new build than any other town of similar size in Wiltshire.

Mactaggart & Mickel held two meetings of residents of this area and had something like a 98 per cent refusal both times. What part of ‘no’ don’t they understand?

Mactaggart & Mickel are not builders. They seek planning permission for a piece of land, this makes the land worth much more. Then they sell it to the big builders. They have “homes” in smaller print on their letter heading. This does not make them builders, as a lot of people think. In the same area were MoD offices, also ICL, so called “employment land”, which now have houses built on them also; so there has been plenty of house building in that area anyway. We don’t need more immediately.

Mrs J Legge Tintern Road Devizes