Aster housing redevelopment plans in Burbage spark fears

Seymour Court, located next to Burbage Primary School, is set to be demolished by Aster Group and redeveloped into 17 affordable homes.

The site currently consists of 25 retirement flats and one house which were all built in 1983 and have been well maintained but do not meet "the modern aspirations of retirement living," according to Aster.

The proposed plans for redevelopment have created huge concerns within the community.

In a village meeting with Devizes MP Danny Kruger, around 90 members of the community all came together to share their frustrations with the plans.

"There was solid agreement on pushing back on Aster's plans," said resident Sam Olsen.

Zoe Garbutt, principal at Burbage Primary School, has said the school is on the whole supportive of the new development, despite concerns.

"It is a brownfield site opposite the school and we would love to welcome new families to the community," explained Mrs Garbutt.

"But our main concern is about the close proximity of the planned Seymour Court redevelopment to the school site in terms of safety and general disruption.”

The development site is a stone's throw from the village primary school. (Image: Newsquest)

"We know that construction is going to be 40-plus weeks and Aster has not made any efforts to support the school in terms of additional resources although it will inevitably be impacted," she told the Gazette and Herald.

In a written statement submitted to the planning application, Mrs Garbutt added: "With additional traffic associated with the building phase and site traffic, there will be an increased likelihood of an accident occurring.

"As our playgroup and most of our classrooms face onto Seymour Court, I am also concerned that the noise of construction and increased dust will impact negatively on our children."

The proposed site plan for Seymour Court. (Image: Wiltshire Council)

"The road was not designed for access to the school and that many properties," added Burbage Parish Council.

“With an ageing population, the decision to redevelop rather than refurbish and return the building to its original use appears short-sighted."

A spokesperson for Aster Group said: “We completely understand the concerns of the residents in Burbage regarding the redevelopment.

“We’ve been keen to work with the community of Burbage from the point of announcing our plans for Seymour Court.

"We held a public consultation prior to our plans being submitted, where the local community and other stakeholders were able to share their feedback and comments. These comments were taken into consideration when shaping our final proposals.

“We hope our proposals, with government grant support, will help go some way to deliver the much-needed new affordable homes the village and community of Burbage needs.”