Bid to build homes near Trowbridge bat colony refused

An application to build the new homes on land south of Drynham Lane, Trowbridge was rejected by Wiltshire Council last summer.

And following a public hearing, the Planning Inspectorate has dismissed the developer's appeal against that decision.

In January last year, Drynham Lane Ltd applied to permission to build 40 homes on 1.17 hectares of agricultural land south of Drynham Lane on the outskirts of Trowbridge.

The triangular site is agricultural land located next to Elm Grove Farm, where Redrow Homes have approval for a development of up to 248 homes.

In refusing planning permission, the council cited the adverse effects that construction would have on the local bat population, and that the site was known to be "rich in later prehistoric and Romano-British field systems and settlement remains."

The impact on the landscape, noise to occupants from the nearby Spitfire Retail Park and White Horse Business Park, surface water flood risk, and a lack of proposed infrastructure were also among the litany of reasons for refusal.

The developer appealed the decision, telling the Planning Inspectorate: "The site is set between a retail park, a business park, an urban well-lit roundabout, existing residential development and a new build housing development and is visible from a well-lit A363.

"The area is urban in character."

They said the council's policy on bat protection is "inconsistent," and contested the council's view that the land is rich in archaeology.

They claimed the site was included in an archaeological survey as part of a separate planning application "which found little of interest."

The developer also claimed for costs, citing "spurious reasons" for refusal and "unreasonable behaviour" by planning officers, which the council countered with its own claim for costs.

Following a hearing by planning inspector Hollie Nicholls, the inspector ruled that the scheme "has the potential to affect the interest features of the Special Area of Conservation through direct effects on the relevant bat populations and reductions in quantity and quality of the habitats they use."

She also ruled that "the development would fail to provide adequate living conditions for future occupiers, with particular regard to noise."

And she found "the proposal would not harm the archaeological interests of the site."

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She acknowledged that the proposed development would address Wiltshire's "substantial shortfall in housing," and "provide dwellings in a sustainable location with access to the range of facilities and transport links available in Trowbridge."

But she concluded: "Even when taken cumulatively, the benefits and other points advanced in favour of the scheme do not outweigh the harms and conflict with the development plan when taken as a whole."

Dismissing the appeal, she also refused both parties' claims for costs.