The first phase in the long-awaited redevelopment of the Flowers scrapyard site has been approved, despite the protests of Chippenham Town Council about the need for jobs and leisure, instead of housing.

Barratt Homes wants to build 73 new homes with offices and one shop as a first phase in the scheme, which they have named Saxon Gate.

The town council put up a final protest at the meeting last week when Coun Bill Wood asked the development control committee to refuse the plans.

"The Wood Lane police station is about to come on the market and we don't want the same thing there," he said.

"Otherwise we'll end up with wall to wall housing and Chippenham will take another step to becoming a dormitory town."

An agent for Barratt Homes told the meeting further commercial development was planned for the south side of the site.

But Coun Henning said: "This could destroy the viability and sustainability of the town centre. We need shops and leisure and work opportunities.

"There is only one shop and a few offices but even they look like houses. We can't turn it down but there are certain parts of the application I am not happy with.

"I am worried Chippenham town centre will die and the town is going to sleep."

The detailed plans were delegated to officers to sort out final details.

Town council leader Coun Sandie Webb said she was very disappointed at the outcome of the meeting, because the town council has been pressing for a different future on the Flowers site since consultation on a planning brief first began.

"When it came to drawing up the planning brief the district council officers and Flowers and the potential buyers did not listen to what we had to say," she said.

"We spoke from the heart because we knew what was good for the town.

"This is the first phase, the one nearest to the town centre and it will be covered with high density housing with a tiny token amount of other uses.

"Now we are worried about phases two, three and four. Chippenham is looking increasingly like a dormer town.

"In years to come I hope the planners do not look back and see what they have done to the town centre.

"It's ruined it, just like they did in the 1960s."

The development brief for the whole area around the Flowers site, including Wood Lane, the Hygrade factory and the police station, was adopted as supplementary planning guidance after wide ranging consultation with business, residents and other stakeholders.