Residents waiting to hear if a piece of land near Trowbridge can be named a village green will have to be patient yet again, as the decision has been deferred for a second time.
The area at Southwick Court Fields is due to be the site for 180 new homes, but a group of residents are fighting to keep the land publicly accessible.
Wiltshire Council’s western area planning committee has now accepted to further delay the decision, after Cllr Graham Hill from Trowbridge Town Council described its progress as a “torturous” process, which “repeatedly misled and let down” the public and planning officers.
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Attendees heard how the original village green application was declared invalid in 2020 due to its inclusion in a draft housing plan, something which, in planning law, is referred to as a trigger event.
Land developer Waddeton Park and Savills recently won their appeal against the council’s refusal for 180 new homes on the site.
However, the latest report, which was presented to the planning committee on Wednesday, November 6, suggested that the decision to declare the original village green application invalid was flawed.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr David Vigar explained: “The Wiltshire Housing Site Allocation Plan could not have been a trigger event because it was approved one month after the village green application was made.
“The mistake that identified it as a trigger and deemed the application invalid is at the centre of the case that you’re looking at today.”
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He added: “I do not blame the council for this error. We all make mistakes.
“In early 2020, a lot was happening, emails were sent, emails were replied to, and it was understandable that precise dates were overlooked.
“So, I blame no-one. It was a mistake made in good faith.
“But that mistake had massive consequences for the residents of Trowbridge Grove.
“They were denied the chance to support an application to register the land as a village green by attesting to their use of it for over 20 years.”
Cllr Ernie Clark agreed, adding: “I think we’d be doing Wiltshire Council and ourselves a disservice if we are seen to rush the decision.”
The decision will not come back to the committee until next year.
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