Aster strike lucky – York Place (Marlborough) and Seymour Court (Burbage) applications approved – but will these be of benefit to their communities?

Wiltshire Council recently approved both applications by Housing Association Aster to redevelop two sites. York Place in St Martins, Marlborough and Seymour Court in Burbage. Both were former elderly resident accommodations, now to become mainly ‘affordable’ housing units for those who ‘can afford’.

Both were successful in the face of significant – and pretty universal – objection. In Marlborough, the objections centred on the type of dwellings that would replace the former accommodation units for the elderly, the amount of parking spaces that will be needed (and effect on what is already a very ‘tight’ area for parking), and disruption during the construction phase. Minimal space, lots of intense construction, heavy lorries, machinery etc.. The period of construction for anyone living nearby – a ‘holiday in hell’.

In Burbage – it was the effect on the Community. “They have pulled some of the heart out of this village, and we should not just ignore that,” stated Theo Clarke, Chairman of Burbage Parish Council, at a very well-attended meeting in the village’s Royal British Legion Hall which was packed and standing room only. Theo just echoed what everyone else on the room felt.

The parallels with York Place are clear. Marlborough Town Council repeatedly voted to object to the development and Marlborough East Wiltshire Councillor, Caroline Thomas called the application in so that it could be discussed in detail and considered by the ‘East’ Planning Committee. But both applications went through.

Aster are a Housing Association. At the Burbage meeting, Devizes MP Danny Kruger explained that when the current wave of Housing Associations emerged, they weren’t like “big public bureaucracies, but were locally accountable small charities, responsive to the needs of the community”. He noted that in a marketplace that doesn’t work, Aster had merged with other Associations and were now acting “like a big plc. that operates like a commercial company”.

To clarify Danny’s point, Aster are not developer. Housing Associations are technically ‘not-for-profit’ organisations, established primarily to provide low cost affordable and social housing. ‘Affordable’ equates to roughly 80% of market rate, ‘Social’ to about 50%. The National Housing Federation defines the role of a Housing Association as:

Housing associations provide homes and support for almost six million people around England. They offer social homes, shared ownership homes, some market homes to rent and buy and essential supported and specialist housing.

They also invest in community services and regeneration, provide support to vulnerable people and reinvest all their income into delivering their social purpose.

Their existence can be traced back almost as far as Marlborough’s. Housing Associations have their roots in early philanthropy and charity, dating back to at least 1235 when an almshouse in Cirencester was established to offer shelter for the seriously ill. But the current generation of HAs are rooted back in the eighties, as Local Councils divested themselves of their Council House stock (right to buy, transfer of ownership from Local Authority to Housing Association ownership through Large-Scale Voluntary Transfer agreements) and in effect the Housing Association sector emerged as the area for development and management of social and affordable rented homes. But as ever, circumstances change. And, as Danny Kruger commented (above), Aster are acting like a big plc., like a commercial company. Distant from a not-for-profit organisation.

Could Wiltshire Council have taken the opinions of residents and Local Councils into consideration when judging each application? Yes. Of course. But it would have cost. A lot. And, as in the case of Seymour Court, Wiltshire Councillor Stuart Wheeler explained that any turning down of a proposal, that wasn’t backed by strong and clear ‘Planning’ arguments would be open to appeal by the developer and the Council would then likely be liable for the costs of that appeal. Councils, or rather all of us, just don’t have that money.

For info, links to each application – with all correspondence and notices – see below:

Seymour Court application:  Planning Application (PL/2022/06850)

York Place application:  PL/2023/03305