Wilts Council Planning Committee overrule the Town Council objection to the ‘Newlands’ change of use

Wiltshire Council Planning Committee (East) have voted to approve the change of use application for ‘Newlands’ in Hyde Lane, submitted by Marlborough College. This is despite the recent clear and unanimous objection from Marlborough Town Council.

As noted in the story published on 11 January on Marlborough.news, Marlborough College had originally submitted an application in November – PL/2022/08977 – but this was withdrawn. This was followed by a further application, PL/2022/09381 for change of use: from two flats (used by staff) to a boarding house for students.

Whilst Wiltshire Council decided to side with Marlborough College, approval wasn’t unconditional and it came with certain specific conditions, relating to the design of the fire escape, screening for privacy and AONB-standard lighting in an area of dark skies.

Overall this has been a quite contested process with adjacent residents not being informed of the application, (one resident shares two boundaries but was still omitted from the consultation list), and strong and clearly stated reasons for the objection, made to the WC committee by several affected residents and Wiltshire and Town Councillor, Jane Davies. But the Wiltshire Planning Committee nodded it through.

Whereas ‘Newlands’ was used as two houses for College staff, in future it could be an ‘overspill’ location for a dozen students, and house staff or possibly – we hear – for other staff displaced from their current lodging accommodation elsewhere on the campus. In short, we don’t know and any usage other than that set out in the application is nothing other than speculation.

Interestingly there appears to have been some confusion over this property, or at least its identity. Whilst it is clearly identified as ‘Newlands’ when sold by Auction in 1960 at The Castle & Ball, wind forward to the Marlborough Town Character Study prepared for the Neighbourhood Plan in 2020 it is described (on p53) as an ‘L shaped house’, with ‘Late 19th century L shaped, red brick with timber glazed porch. Early in development of area. Detached, secluded building set back from road by drive in extensive grounds.’

It’s fairly clear that it refers to ‘Newlands’, a property marked as of ‘Historical Value’, but for some reason its name had disappeared.