Government to decide on plans for 300 homes

The government will decide whether 300 new homes can be built on the edge of a town.

Last year, Wiltshire Council's planning committee turned down an application from land developer Catesby Estates to build the homes near Melksham's rugby and football club.

An appeal lodged by Catesby Estates will be heard by Housing Secretary Steve Reed, not a planning inspector.

Conservative councillor Nick Holder questioned whether the decision created a "national precedent". The government said a report and recommendations are being prepared for ministers to consider.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Holder raised the issue during a council cabinet meeting.

He said: "What I would like to know is if this is specific just to this appeal, or is this likely to create a precedent that developments of this size will no longer be decided by local authorities, but are going to be determined by the Secretary of State in the government's race to build houses."

Cabinet member for housing Adrian Foster said: "We have had several consultations from the government over the last six months about new planning policy and approach, none of which is encouraging from a local democracy point of view."

The government said as this case will come before ministers in the future, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

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