PEOPLE living in Melksham have been putting forward their ideas of what they would like to see on the former Cooper Tire & Rubber Company site in the town.
Among the suggestions submitted so far are an indoor water park or an outlet retail village to give a boost to Melksham’s struggling local economy.
Others suggested it be used as a site for a new hospital, a wellbeing and leisure centre, a riverside restaurant and independent shops, and a solar farm.
A snowdome, restaurants and a cinema, as well as a sewage treatment plant, were among some of the other ideas put forward.
Outlandish suggestions included it being used for a new space centre, while another thought it should be used as a site for a new international airport.
Malcolm Cupis, the Reform UK party candidate for the next General Election, said: “It should be used to build a new hospital with homes for the people who work there around it. It could also have the extra GP and dental facilities the area so badly needs.
“With all of the housebuilding that has gone on in the area in the last few years and barely any infrastructure improvement the pressure on vital services is unsustainable.
“It is ridiculous that people have to be blue-lighted 25 miles to the RUH in an emergency or to have to travel all that way for regular cancer treatment or kidney dialysis.
“The council in Bath has made it worse by introducing a load of anti-car measures, taking away parking spaces and hiking up charges.
“We need and deserve our own hospital now. We pay just as much tax to the NHS as the people of Bath and Swindon do.”
The American Goodyear Tyre group, one of the world’s biggest tyre manufacturers, brought Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in 2021 in a £2.25 billion deal.
The group promptly announced it would close the Melksham factory by the end of 2023 with the loss of more than 350 jobs.
Many Melksham residents would prefer the 68-acre site to be used for commercial retail or industrial purposes providing jobs for locals rather than being redeveloped for new housing.
The site comprises 30 acres of brownfield land and 38.5 acres of greenfield located on the northern fringe of Melksham town centre close to the River Avon.
The selling agents Cushman & Wakefield offered the freehold for sale, saying it would prefer the whole site to be acquired by one buyer, although it was willing to accept separate offers for 'Area A' and 'Area B'.
But one woman believes part of the site should be used to provide new housing to enable older people to downsize and free up larger homes for families.
She said: “If they're going to build houses (which of course they will) we desperately need homes for us 'oldies' to downsize to."
However, some people disagreed, with one saying: “A retail park definitely because we need more employment for the Melksham area."
At least one person believes Cooper Tire & Rubber should have given something back to the town that served it so well.
The Melksham Green Space community group bid for 28.5-acres in 'Area B' but was outbid by a mystery buyer.
Its chairman Nigel Benham says they are still hopeful of being able to acquire part of the site for recreational green space and to establish a wildlife habitat to boost biodiversity.
Cushman & Wakefield has been approached for further details on the sale. It is not yet known who the mystery buyer is or what they intend to do with the land they have acquired.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel