Equine Clinic at The Mill House, Poulton Mill starts to take shape

The initial proposal – PL/2021/04663 – was unveiled in July 2021 but now the shape and scale of the Poulton Mill Equine Clinic is starting to emerge.

A long journey through Planning: initially welcomed and approved (following a presentation by owner and applicant, Dr Andre Buthe, to the Planning Committee of the Marlborough Town Council, this decision was reversed soon after when some of the claims made in the presentation were subjected to scrutiny. The proposal was then ‘re-approved’ by the Town Council in the following year (2022).

Finally in March of last year it was approved by the East Planning Committee of Wiltshire Council, and now the main building is starting to take shape in this area of the River Og valley. A long, drawn out (and contentious) procedure lasting near to three years with plenty of comment from those in the vicinity (a total of 172 comments, not all from local residents but many, pretty well all of whom raised their concerns.

Now it’s here. The proposal per se was never about whether a facility of this nature was right for this area, everyone understood and agreed that it was. The Marlborough area is a very ‘equestrian’ region with centres for all forms of top-level equestrian activity (Racing, Eventing, Dressage and much more), rather it was the location. Right project – wrong place. It was recognition of the benefits that this centre could bring to the Marlborough area that was the basis for the initial approval by the Town Council. They wanted it, and for all the right reasons. But sited in this part of the Og Valley? At Poulton Mill? In an AONB – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty? The skeleton of the centre has now emerged, it is for you to decide whether it’s beneficial to the community, as it is, where it is.