Wiltshire Council has approved the construction of a single house which was controversial enough to generate more than 40 letters of objection.

The home will be built on land south of 92 High Street, in Chapmanslade, and has been described as a “sustainable self-build dwelling”.

A handful of nearby residents attended the planning meeting on Wednesday, November 6, to fight what they called a “ridiculous” proposal, but ultimately, the applicant was given the go-ahead to construct his “forever home”.

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Chapmanslade is located 4 miles outside Warminster.Chapmanslade is located 4 miles outside Warminster. (Image: Oakwrights) The application had attracted attention before the meeting, with one nearby resident writing: “This is the worst planning application I have ever seen in its amateurish substandard application.”

Chapmanslade Parish Council had also commented that it was “frustrated by the rolling round of updates which continue to make this application difficult to judge”, referring to the fact that it was the applicant's third version of the plans.

Speaking to the committee on Wednesday, the chairman of the parish council suggested the application was “flawed from the outset” and overlapped the settlement boundary.

The applicant’s neighbours expressed concerns about the narrow lane that would be used to access the property, with one of the households fearing the new build would overlook their swimming pool.

Another claimed it was “ridiculous to even consider” that construction vehicles would be able to fit down the lane.

Some councillors raised questions over the accessibility of the site in terms of fire engines, whilst others argued that there were “dozens and dozens” of houses in Wiltshire located down narrow lanes.

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However, planning officers maintained that they were satisfied the site was connected to the highway.

Development management area team leader, Kenny Green, noted there were “no defendable grounds” to refuse for highways reasons.

He said: “If the application is refused on those, you would be exposing the council to an undefendable appeal and almost certain costs for unreasonable behaviour.”

Case officer, Janice Green, argued that the proposal was “an efficient and effective reuse of land providing sustainable windfall development of a highly sustainable nature and excellent design”.

The applicant, John Foster, was also present to defend the plans.

He said: “For almost four years, following a successful pre-application, we have worked closely with the case officer to create a good looking, well-designed, energy efficient property that uses high quality materials.”

The western area planning committee voted to approve Mr Foster’s proposal.