SCORES of angry residents had to wait until the end of a meeting to learn they had lost their battle to stop 700 more homes being built on the edge of Chippenham today.


But plans for a giant distribution centre, originally intended for The Range, were rejected.

After a five-hour meeting at the Monkton Park council chambers, the Wiltshire Council strategic planning committee meeting voted 5 to3 to allow the development to go ahead.


Councillors had spent most of the afternoon debating the contentious plan to build up to 700 houses, four and a half hectares of office space and a primary school on the land next to Cocklebury Lane.


Planning officer Mark Staincliffe introduced the Rawlings Farm report to the committee, and recommended the application should be granted subject to the completion of a section 106 agreement within six months. 


He said: “The site is on the outskirts of Chippenham next to the main railway line and it will be accessed through Parsonage Way and Darcy Close. However, no more than 200 homes can be occupied until the Cocklebury Lane link road and the railway bridge is provided by the developer.” 


Members of the public and speakers from surrounding parish councils, who have all objected to the plan, raised numerous concerns, including the bridge. 


Chippenham town councillor Nick Murry said: “The application has received 150 letters of objection and one letter of support. The site will have significant impact on the local character of the area. 


“The proposals to have two access points do not take into consideration the traffic on Station Road and the additional vehicles coming from those 200 homes will grind traffic to a halt.”


The planning officers came under fire for the report, which both the public and councillors claimed lacked important details regarding the impact of the development on the surrounding areas. 


Objector Ffion Pilbrow focused his speech on the facts the councillors did know and that those facts should lead them to believe that the application has been discussed prematurely. 


Coun Chris Caswill, who represents Monkton Park, said: “There is a considerable list of anxieties before you. The application is not adequate and we know that because you are being asked to provide conditions to help with it.


“The Station Hill roundabout will be overloaded by traffic and this will be stopped apparently by the magic installation of traffic lights.” 


Earlier in the meeting another controversial application, for a storage and distribution centre intended to be used by The Range, on land north of the A350 in West Cepen Way, was unanimously refused.


The application for the distribution centre also attracted a substantial crowd of campaigners who were unhappy with the size of the centre and the visual impact it would have on the area. 


Paul Furbisher, who was representing the residents of Cepen Park North, said: “The sheer scale of the development is crazy. It is a huge and about the same size as the one on the M5. It is out of scale and out of keeping with the surrounding area.” 


Although The Range pulled out of the deal to occupy the site months ago, the application had not changed despite attempts to ask the developers for additional information. 


The Range was forced to abandon their plans after campaigners sent in hundreds of objections against the construction of the 65ft tall warehouse and they have since set their sights on moving to Bristol. 


When asked to make their decision on the plans, coun Trevor Carbin said: “There is nothing to be said in support of this application.”