In early March a public meeting was held in Axford to discuss a project for about 16 new houses to be built on a greenfield site in the village.

The meeting was organised by Ramsbury Parish Council, a representative of Sarsen Housing Association, which owns some of the land, and Countryside Solutions, representing Mrs Fisher, the owner of the major part of the land in question.

About 20 people attended the meeting. Letters were written by some of us who were unable to be there, stating our concerns but these were not read out or circulated. In the end 14 out of 20 attendees decided they would like to see more details on the proposed project. Concerns were brought up at the meeting, one of the major ones being the infrastructure: the existing sewage plant is at maximum capacity. A viable plan for an alternative would be part of the proposed project.

Lest this be taken as an indication of Axford village support for the project, a few of us prepared a survey and petition which we took to every house in the village and the results have turned out, in private discussion, to be very different from those at the public meeting.

Of around 100 adult residents in Axford, 73 have signed the petition saying they don't like the proposal. This is a clear majority of the village and should be taken as a strong message to both the owners of the land and the parish council that there is no real support for such a project in Axford.

At the meeting, Mrs Fisher's representative stated that if the village didn't want the houses she would not give the land for this purpose. The village has spoken and we hope that Mrs Fisher will listen to those views and react accordingly. Just to put this in context, the local plan adopted in April 2004 excluded any significant housing development in Axford owing to a lack of amenities. Nothing has since changed and there should therefore now be no reason why Kennet District Council should accept such a project except under the planning exceptions policy.

A de Safrin

Partridge Piece

Axford