CAMPAIGNERS who wanted to protect the heritage of the former Wiltshire College building in Chippenham are outraged after plans to demolish the site and build a five-storey block of retirement homes in its place were approved.

Dozens of residents, who objected to 140-flat retirement block in Cocklebury Road, are upset that their concerns about the size, scale and access of the site have been seemingly brushed aside by councillors at the northern area planning committee meeting last Wednesday.

Under the plans, which were voted in 6-3 by councillors, C Squared Property Developments will demolish the Victorian redbrick building and begin building the site in the near future, providing that they sign an

Section 103 agreement within three months.

Councillor Nick Murry, who called the application in, said: “The fact this will be a five-storey building, several metres higher than the college next door, with cars exiting on a bend, adjacent to and opposite residential properties, has understandably raised concerns and objections from various local residents, particularly around height, traffic and road safety.

“Having raised these with planning officers and the developer, it is good to see the developer will be required to improve road safety on the bend, and has agreed to take a metre off the height of the building. I will continue working with the most affected residents to resolve their issues with the developer.

“Thinking longer-term, the increase in traffic on Cocklebury Road and Station Hill, to which this and other planned developments around the station will all contribute, continues to be one of my main concerns.

“Each application is assessed in isolation but the cumulative impact seems not to be properly accounted for. This is simply not sustainable.

“An application is already in for a substantial development at Rawlings Farm, for example, which will bring yet more traffic past the station and down Station Hill.

“Unchecked, it’s not only local residents who will suffer the traffic impacts of these developments, it’s our town centre and local economy as well.”

Tom Mallard, who set up a petition, which gathered more than 1,000 signatures and called for the site to be turned into an arts centre, believes more should be done to cater for young people in the town.

“I had a suspicion that it would be too late to save the building from the start, but that doesn’t mean it was a waste of time,” he said.

“The response was incredible, and it still shows that the people of Chippenham want more places that benefit the community, and are fed up of seeing buildings knocked down and replaced with retirement apartments.

“Many responses raised concerns about the lack of activities for younger people, especially a 13-25 demographic, with many referencing how the Bridge Centre was knocked down.

“I am keeping the petition open and will still use it to show support for such a place in Chippenham and encouraging people to join the conversation on the Chippenham Arts, Culture, and Events page on Facebook.”