Issue 146 - November 2016

Trust News Issue 146 - November 2016 Another year comes to a close and it's time to reflect on highlights of 2016 as well as look forward to what 2017 has in store. The Trust has had a busy year. Two new Trustees – John Hawthorne and Ian Sharp - have joined the Committee to replace David Dawson and John Baumber. We have been actively involved in a number of planning issues and we are working with Devizes Town Council on a project to review the state of street signs. We have had two highly entertaining members' meetings, one of which is reviewed elsewhere in this issue. And, most importantly, there has been some exciting news about the possibility of the Assize Courts becoming the new home for Wiltshire Museum, The Planning Inspectorate’s Inquiry into forensic analysis of the arguments. The the granting of outline permission for a Trust had made a written submission. subject, of course, to the development of 123 houses on land off acquisition of the building by The One of the major arguments against any Quakers Walk was always going to be development along London Road is the Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust. unusual. The application had been made effect on traffic flow and air quality. by the owners of the land, the Merchant 2017 is the Trust's Golden During the above exchanges it was Venturers. Approval for the planning Anniversary. Looking back to 1967 revealed that Wiltshire Council had failed application had been granted by Wiltshire when the Trust was formed, it is to mention to the Inspector the recently Council. Therefore both the land owner difficult to imagine how people completed development of 172 houses and the planning authority were in favour managed without computers, the and a care home on the Bureau West site of the development. Subsequent to the internet, mobile phones and so on. and that the Lay Wood site would add application being approved, the Secretary How on earth did the protesters another 130 dwellings. These figures of State had decided to review Wiltshire against the Crammer Wall manage were dragged unwillingly from Wiltshire Council's decision in the light of the to get 3500 signatures in a matter Council planners. They claimed that they Devizes and District Neighbourhood Plan of days? Well they did manage it were not relevant as the permissions had and the Wiltshire Core Strategy. Hence been granted prior to the full adoption of and, as a result, the hated wall was the Planning Inquiry. quickly taken down. Power to the the Neighbourhood Plan. The Merchant Venturers were represented people! Although the Inquiry itself was very brief, at the Inquiry by a QC, supported by an the Inspector had been presented with a In 2017, we will be looking back expert from Savills, their estate agents, mountain of documents running literally over the past 50 years with a series and seven others. In contrast, Wiltshire to thousands of pages. It will of Trust News articles based on Council was represented by one Planning undoubtedly be weeks, if not months, material held at the History Centre Officer and an in-house barrister. The QC before his conclusions are published. in Chippenham. Something to look immediately announced that on the forward to I'm sure. previous day Wiltshire Council had given his clients outline permission to build Your Committee would like to wish sixty-five dwellings on part of the land in you a very merry Christmas and a question. He further stated that, in due peaceful New Year. Please join us course, another application would be for our Christmas Social evening submitted for further units on the on December 9th. More details on remaining land. Page 4. Arguments against the original application were outlined by Simon Fisher, Deputy Town Clerk, who declined to be bullied or tricked by the QC into making contradictory statements. John Kirkman of the CPRE gave his own The Battle of Coate Bridge On 21st October, more than forty members and friends had an enjoyable and informative evening when they were addressed by who is editing the new South West edition of Pevsners County Guides. The first Wiltshire edition was published in 1963 and was, as were all the counties, entirely the work of Professor Pevsner himself, carried out in his holidays and spare time. Every village and settlement was included, although the constraints of size and time meant that entries were fairly cursory. In 1975 a new series was commissioned, edited by individual editors acting on a regional basis. As before every community was covered but now in more detail. Examples of modern architecture were included. Now, Yale University Press will publish an updated version and Julian is responsible for the South The rapid expansion of the town in the public consultation late the following West Region. Wiltshire should be period from the 1990s brought with it year. In so doing they made it obvious published in 2017/2018. Julian has a considerable increase in traffic, so that local opinion was not going to asked for the county to be covered in much so that jams became the norm. stop, what to them, would be very two volumes: so far that plea has With seemingly no end to growth the profitable development. Trustees decided that there was a very fallen on deaf ears. The Trust had learned two things from real danger that further development One of the current editorial problems fighting previous applications: (a) that would change the whole character of is not so much what to include as we needed a protest group that was the town. They resolved to fight to what to leave out. Some of the widely representative and (b), that it keep the character of Devizes that previous entries have disappeared was important to make clear the endeared so many to it. under roadworks or other forms of power and depth of opposition as development. Many of the examples The first public manifestation of his early in the planning cycle as possible. of modern design now look sadly policy was a Public Meeting in June To this end we teamed up with the dated or have been demolished or 2011 to protest at the lack of any Devizes Community Area Partnership abandoned and now stand empty policy to stop increasing air pollution (DCAP) and the Campaign to Protect and vandalised. This is particularly which already exceeded legal limits in Rural England (CPRE) and enjoyed the the case in Swindon: no surprises seven places in the town. The public support of a number of Town there! Schools, especially , have not stood the test of time. meeting was an unqualified success, and Roundway Councillors, Laura putting considerable pressure on Mayes, Wiltshire Councillor for The survey of Devizes is yet to be Wiltshire Council to take into account Roundway and our MP Clare Perry. If undertaken but Julian, who is now any traffic increase arising from a that didn’t convince Mactaggart and based in Bradford-on-Avon, has proposed development and the Mickel that the development was not promised to return and give a further resultant rise in air pollutants. It did wanted, nothing would! talk to the Trust when it is completed. not deter developers from coming This overwhelming show of rejection Something for us all to look forward forward however. to. by the people of Devizes was Development of land to the east of completely ignored and a formal Coate Bridge was first mooted in application for planning permission 2011. The proposal was for a large was filed on 24th January 2013. The development (around 350 homes), on protest groups had not stopped at the a green field site and outside the rally, however and, on the very day boundaries set by Kennet Council for that the application was made development. The vast majority of members of the Trust, DCAP, traffic generated from the Roundway Parish Council, Devizes development would use the London Town Council and Wiltshire County Road corridor, the most congested of Council were meeting the Planning our roads. Despite strong initial Minister in London. While we were not opposition and the fact that it ticked allowed to discuss any particular none of the boxes for a desirable application, we were able to state our development, the developers, case that Devizes could not continue Mactaggart and Mickel, launched a full to take further developments at the The Battle of Coate Bridge current rate. In this we were strongly place and providing the housing supported by Clare Perry who had numbers in this plan accorded to kindly arranged the meeting. We came those allocated in the Core Strategy, 2:30 pm, Saturday, 03 December, 2016 away confident that our case was now such a plan would have to be taken Searching, finding, survey and understood at the highest level. into account in any planning excavation. By Phil Short. Booking application. The planning application came before essential. the committee in September and was In common with all other refused. This, in itself was a landmark; communities, Devizes did not have most applications from professional that plan, but work started in developers were signed off with little December 2011 with Devizes, hesitation. So the first skirmish to us! Roundway and Bishops Cannings 7:00 pm, Wednesday, 18 January, 2017 As expected, however, the developers working together. The housing Led by Bob Clarke and Emma Elton. An decided to appeal which meant the provision was determined at a number interactive lecture series that will whole issue would be decided by a of workshops where the relative merits introduce the background to Planning Inspector.

Load more