A Wiltshire Council strategic planning committee meeting has unanimously rejected plans to build around 300 homes at Old Sarum Airfield.
The planning officer had already recommended that the plans be rejected, and the local councils and Wiltshire Councillor, Cllr Andrew Oliver, objected to them. All eight members of the committee voted in favour of rejecting the application.
The ongoing planning process surrounding the airfield has reached another turning point, as the latest application has been rejected.
The most recent proposal sought approval for approximately 315 homes alongside a "mixture of employment, commercial/leisure, and aviation uses."These plans included a control tower, heritage centre, visitor centre, café/restaurant, parachute centre, aviation archives, and aircraft hangars.
In October last year, the airfield’s director, Mr Grenville Hodge, expressed confidence that the revised application was more acceptable to both the authorities and the local community due to the changes made. However, despite these revisions, the planning officers of Wiltshire Council had recommended refusal of the application.
A previous application submitted in 2015, along with an appeal in 2018/19, was also refused. After a public inquiry, the Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government denied planning permission, citing that the proposed development would erode the open character and appearance of the Airfield Conservation Area, as well as the setting of the listed hangars and the Old Sarum Scheduled Ancient Monument.
In their latest report, the planning officers echoed similar concerns, stating that the proposal would have an "unacceptable impact on highway safety" and that the cumulative impacts on the road network would be "severe." Additionally, the scheme was found to have a "significant visual impact," with the officers maintaining that the previous appeal decision remains valid. The report concluded that the development would still result in "a significant amount of harm to heritage assets" by failing to preserve the setting of the listed buildings or the Scheduled Monument and by not enhancing the character or appearance of the Airfield Conservation Area.
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