A plan to build a new house in Blunsdon, which would have been used as a children’s home, has been withdrawn after concerns were raised over a risk to human health proposed by its sewage plans.

Specialist residential home operator Park Blue Homes already runs a children’s home in a converted former family home at Ringstones in Kingsdown Lane, in Blunsdon, a small single-track road off Turnpike Lane.  

It had put in a plan to build a new four-bedroom house in the grounds of the existing building, to be used as an additional home for youngsters. 

But that was firmly opposed by neighbours and Blunsdon Parish Council, with several citing an unpleasant smell of sewage coming from the ditch running alongside the road near the existing house. 

Blunsdon & Highworth ward member Councillor Steve Weisinger had written to the committee saying there had been no problem with the drains or sewage system in the lane before the house had become used as a children’s home. 

And Councillor Nick Gardiner added: “I have visited the site and the stench of raw sewage and the visual evidence of waste was completely unacceptable.” 

The company’s representative Jack Bryon said the new building would see the existing sewage treatment plant on the site be improved to cope with extra demand. 

But members of the committee, at its meeting in September, made no decision, deferring the matter to seek the opinion of the Environment Agency. 

Since that meeting, a report has been uploaded to the bundle of papers in the application on the borough council’s website which says analysis of the water and soil at the site which said there were high levels of E. coli and other harmful bacteria which would cause harm to human health. 

Although recently uploaded the report is dated April 2022. 

Now Park Blue Homes has decided to withdraw the whole application. A letter to the council’s planners says: “After careful consideration, we feel that we will not be able to pursue the ongoing application at Ringstones House. 

"This has been really disappointing to unfortunately not get the result we were hoping for. We are going to regroup and look at how else we can utilise the land there, we will potentially be back with a different application in the not-too-distant future.”