Campaigners in Corsham are delighted at the news that plans to build nine flats on the gardens of Corsham Almshouses were dropped last weekend.

The proposal caused great upset in the town when it was announced two years ago, culminating with a planning application being rejected at a heated Wiltshire Council northern area planning committee meeting last August.

The almshouses’ trustees, who were behind the move, had one year to re-submit a revised application but now that has formally been withdrawn.

Coun Peter Davis said: “I received notification over the weekend that the trustees do not intend to resubmit a planning application and the scheme will not happen.

“I’m overjoyed at the news and I’m sure the people of Corsham will be too. What they were planning on doing was just sacrilege, destroying a beautiful building.”

Since the plans were revealed in 2009, around £75,000 has been spent on work towards the almshouses project, in what was going to be an estimated total cost of £1.5m to complete the work.

Trustee councillor Rod Taylor cited a difference of opinion between the trustees in explaining why the plans were originally announced and said he had not been in favour of them.

Last year more than 1,000 Corsham people signed a petition objecting to the project.