Councillors will be voting on Monday (November 16) on a planning application by Aster Communities for a pair of semi-detached homes at Newby Acre east of Port Hill.
The homes would be built on a car parking area – and local residents say that parking is already a problem for home-owners on that part of the estate.
They are supported by town councillor Alexander Kirk Wilson who has written to Wiltshire Council about the application. He is a ‘local representative for Aster Communities’, but ‘strongly opposes’ the application citing parking problems: ‘…after work parking becomes desperate and many vehicles get parked on the grass verges…’
He recognises that increasing parking provision would be expensive ‘…and Aster would rather spend the money on houses not parking.’ He goes on: ‘And this application is aimed at generating cash to ease Aster’s financial problems, but emphatically it should not be done at the cost of exacerbating the existing parking problems.’
Councillor Kirk Wilson sees no problem in the Crown Estate’s Salisbury Road development which objectors say will exacerbate existing traffic problems. He uses this letter to express his wholehearted support for that development ‘…where I believe my fellow Town Councillors exaggerate the traffic problems…’
His views have caused some upset among residents who live closer to the Crown Estate land where up to 175 houses may be built.
Earlier in the year the town council objected to a similar ‘in-fill’ development by Aster Communities of two one bed flats at Baylie Acre – not far from Newby Acre. This application was refused by Wiltshire Council.