THE former Lucent site at Swindon Road, on the outskirts of Malmesbury, is set for a 155-house development. An application was submitted to the district council last week.

The Minton Group, which lets office space, said it had found it hard to find companies willing to rent offices in Malmesbury since it bought the complex at the beginning of last year for an undisclosed sum.

Instead the company has come up with an ambitious scheme to boost the number of people working from home.

The plan is for one to four-bedroom houses, which would all have office space on a separate floor or built adjacent to the house.

A row of dedicated offices would be built to the front of the site and affordable houses will also be included in the scheme. A business and meeting centre, crche and restaurant are also planned.

Paul Fong, of Hunter Page Planning, which is handling the development for Lucent, said the scheme was an opportunity for Malmesbury.

"It is going to be a positive regeneration and improve what is on the site," he said. "We did an employment survey in Malmesbury, which showed there was a need for this type of housing where people could work from home.

"We will also be putting affordable housing on the site, which Malmesbury needs."

The Mayor of Malmesbury Charles Vernon said he was worried about the size of the development.

He said: "It does demonstrate what the town council has been saying about separate development around Malmesbury.

"We feel that as the district council has decided to grant permission for building at Filands and we now have a plan for around a 150 homes, Malmesbury will not be able to cope.

"This needs to be dealt with in the appropriate way and the affect these developments have on the town should be considered as a whole rather than development by development."

Mr Fong said he knew about the Filands plan but added Malmesbury's infrastructure would be able to handle the Lucent site development.

He said: "In terms of traffic road safety, Swindon Road will be improved greatly and there are facilities around the site that will be able to sustain the development."

St Paul's Malmesbury Without Parish Council will discuss the plans tonight at the Old Corporation Rooms, Market Lane, Malmesbury, from 7.30pm until 8.15pm.

Parish councillor Jacky Martin, who is also on Malmesbury Town Council, said she was broadly in favour of the scheme.

She said: "My personal point of view is I like the concept but I don't know whether it is going to work.

"The town could probably do without any more houses but the site is becoming an eyesore and I think if the development is sympathetic to the needs of the local community it might be able to work."