The hotel planned for the Salisbury Road development will be three storeys high and contain 60 rooms – that was the headline news in a presentation by two consultants working for the Crown Estate to Marlborough Town Council’s planning committee and twelve members of the public on Monday (March 23.)
The development has now been submitted to Wiltshire Council for outline planning permission. This should be decided by 22 June 2015. If – or when – full planning permission is granted, work should begin in 2017 with completion expected in 2021.
What else did councillors learn from the presentation by Al Hanagan and Neil Hall that was concerning them? Many councillors praised aspects of the plans – especially bringing the development further down the southern slope – so lessening the impact on the general Marlborough landscape.
We also heard about the new grassland areas and how the dormice and bats were being given space.
Councillors learned that negotiations are underway on three 106 infrastructure agreements: a financial contribution to St John’s Academy (to account for the expected extra secondary students living in the new houses), a contribution for sports facilities – not on the site but elsewhere in Marlborough, and finally a possible and unspecified health services based contribution.
Councillors got no clear response when they suggested that these payments should not be made under the soon-to-be-obsolete 106 system, but rather under the new Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) system. This is odd as Wiltshire’s CIL charging schedule is due to come into operation in May – before outline planning consent on this development is considered.
And there was no clear answer either as to how or where Wiltshire Council (which receives 106 payments) plans top put these new sports facilities.
We learned that the affordable homes would be built in small groups of five, six or seven homes. Nothing could be said yet, the consultants said, about the pricing of these homes.
In addition to the 106/CIL payment funds from the developers, Wiltshire Council will receive a large sum from the government’s New Homes Bonus scheme. Whereas the former should be spent in Marlborough, the latter will go into Wiltshire Council’s general pot – providing the Bonus scheme survives the election and subsequent austerity cuts. Including the allocation for 2015-2016, Wiltshire has benefitted by £39million from this scheme.
The most controversial aspect of the presentation concerned the impact of the development on Marlborough’s traffic.
Neil Hall, the planning and environment consultant to the Crown Estate, said their research showed there would be no significant impact on traffic flows. This was challenged by councillors.
Councillor Cook was astounded that cyclists, walkers and wildlife were being looked after – but not drivers. And he asked why a link road from the Tesco roundabout to the A345 at the top of Granham Hill had not been considered.
This would siphon off north-bound traffic wanting to go west along the A4 – and vice versa. Mr Hall responded: “Wiltshire Council have asked us to make a priority of walking and cycling networks.”
We did not learn anymore about the hotel – sited just opposite the Tesco store – except that it would be three storeys high and have about 60 rooms. Some concern was raised about the comparative size of the hotel’s car park compared to the size of Tesco’s car park.
But at this stage of the long process – Mr Hanagan said he had started working on the scheme eight years ago – few details are available and will not be available until a developer takes over and puts detailed plans to Wiltshire Council for full consent. So the devil may well remain in the details – perhaps that is the case with the hotel car park.
One aspect the scheme did become clear: as this is a strategic housing site under the Wiltshire Core Strategy, it is Wiltshire Council in the driving seat – with town councillors cheering or complaining from the side-lines.
Good news for First Great Western : very bad news for Bedwyn commuters
