Call for independent review over Wiltshire Council’s conflict of interest in Rabley Wood View development

 

A strong call has been made for an independent review of the proposed housing development on the amenity land off Rabley Wood View.  

Local residents say that the conflict of interest arising from Wiltshire Council owning the land, benefitting financially from the development and at the same time being the regulatory planning authority is simply too great and is putting officers in an untenable position.

Speaking for the residents, Jayne Baker told Marlborough News online: “We believe that there is a conflict of interest in this case. The Wiltshire Planning officers are being put in an untenable position where they are being asked to try and give an objective opinion when the Council is going to earn £millions if the development goes ahead.”

They have asked Marlborough’s two unitary councillors – Councillors Stewart Dobson and Nick Fogg – to see if there is a way that an independent review can be held.

Residents have also identified “…a clear link between…”  Wiltshire Council’s officer in charge of the application and the planning consultant working on the development, who have previously worked closely with each other in the past at Wiltshire Council.

The new plans put forward by the developers and architects working for the Sangster family’s Manton Estate, show some changes on those rejected by Wiltshire Council’s Eastern Planning Committee in August.

One change is the introduction of a so-called multi-use games area closer to some of the new houses.  On the above plan it is the darker green rectangle in the centre and towards the bottom of the plan.  Residents say it will not allow several age groups to play games there at the same time – which the present open area does allow.

Amended plans were put unofficially to the Town Council last month – and again rejected by its planning committee.  The developers have taken advantage of that informal approach, and objections made then and by the residents led by Jayne Baker, have been answered.   Whether they have been answered sufficiently well remains to be seen.

As the residents have identified, the key issue in this long planning tussle is that Wiltshire Council owns the land – known as the Roger’s Meadow Amenity Space – that is to be built on. And Wiltshire officers were in favour of the first scheme.  

In addition, of course, Wiltshire will benefit financially from the development not just from the use of their land by the developers, but also from payments under the government’s New Homes Bonus scheme.  

But it is probably the newly adopted Wiltshire Core Strategy that is uppermost in councillors’ minds.

The first planning application was submitted under the old Kennet Local Plan which has been almost totally replaced by the county-wide Core Strategy.

Before the Core Strategy could be accepted by the government planning inspector, Wiltshire Council had to agree to find another 5,000 sites for homes to be built across the county between 2006 and 2026.  The inspector had asked for a total building programme of 44,000 new homes instead of Wiltshire Council’s suggested 37,000.  He settled on 42,000 – of those 5,000 extra homes 70 have to be built within Marlborough (the villages were excused hosting any of the extra homes.)

The Rabley Wood View development will add a significant 39 (instead of the original plan’s 46) of those extra 70 homes.  Because the land could not have been considered for development without finding land to replace the amenity or play area, this site was not included in the Council’s 2011 trawl of suitable strategic sites for new housing.

But it was noted that the Town Clerk’s verbal inquiry to Wiltshire Council about a  possible community asset transfer of the amenity area to Town Council ownership, drew the response that this land of ‘strategic’ importance and so not available for transfer of ownership.

The new Design and Access (D&A) statement that underlies all the other 18 application documents, makes it clear that ‘detailed discussions’ have taken place to find an acceptable scheme: “After the original refusals in August 2014, a meeting was held  with both the Senior Planning Officer and the Area Development Manager at Wiltshire Council.  The reasons for refusal were discussed in more detail as well as potential options for moving forward with development of the site.”

Areas of concern refuted in the D&A include insufficient surveillance of the play areas, the safety of the balancing pond, the drainage of the water meadow and the multi-use games area.  

One bone of contention has been partially resolved.  Residents complained that the new plans included too many 4-bedroom homes.  The D&A responds by saying this new application is only for ‘outline planning permission’ and the precise mix of homes can be decided later.  But this decision would come once the plans are out of the reach of democratic challenge.

One positive move is that the D&A recognises Marlborough’s “acute local demand for affordable housing” and the new scheme will include 40 per cent of “affordable units and smaller 3-bedroomed properties.”  That mix is something that local residents and town councillors will need to monitor closely – especially as at present 35.8 per cent of the homes are still designated as 4-bedroom houses.

One other concern has been the danger of the unexploded munitions likely to be found under the water meadow where children will be playing – following the find there of an unexploded hand grenade.  

This is countered by two somewhat strange remarks: first, the D&A says, the land is already used on by ‘unauthorised’ children and dog walkers – who have, presumably, not yet been blown up.  Secondly, the D&A states the drainage work “will unearth any undisturbed shells or rounds” – this implies that the whole area of water meadow is to be dug up as part of the drainage works.

Maintenance of the play area will be in the hands of Wiltshire Council.  This may not be a very sustainable solution.  The Council’s budget for 2015-2016 includes a £250,000 cut: “Further reductions in the repair and maintenance programme with the removal/re-profile of nonessential work.”  And we can expect further similar cuts.

The residents also point out that there is no access for tractors to mow the play area on the meadow except across the water meadow.

If that is all pretty complicated, there is one more wrinkle that is really complex.  The site lies within the defined Limits of Development of Marlborough.  However there is a review on the stocks of ‘settlement boundaries’ in Wiltshire.  

So far the proposed new boundary for Marlborough does NOT take in the Roger’s Meadow Amenity area.  This ruling will be challenged by the developers who believe the Rabley Wood site “would continue towards the residential needs of Marlborough within a sustainable location.”  

But confusingly the water meadow where the new ‘free play’ area would be, is shown as lying outside the Limits of Development.  Which is why there was originally an application for change of use for the water meadow from agricultural land.  Has the Core Strategy trumped that too?  

It’s a maze.

Assuming this plan gets the green light from the Wiltshire planning committee there will still be some hoops to go through.   The Council’s archaeologist has requested a fieldwork check on the water meadow – this costly exercise will only be carried out once outline planning permission has been granted.

And residents believe there will also have to be tests for possible land contamination.   The old TB (or isolation) hospital was on the current recreation ground and ‘urban myth’ has it that some radiological equipment was buried there when the hospital was closed.

[Click on maps to enlarge them.]  Comments on this application can be made to Wiltshire Council until March 12.