Salisbury City Council’s Neighbourhood Plan is considering Quidhampton Quarry as a development site for a new small community designed around recreational green space and home working.

The Neighbourhood Plan aims to tackle local issues including the need for affordable housing for young people, creating cleaner neighbourhoods fit for the future and introducing more green infrastructure.

The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group says, “It is easiest to achieve real changes like this by encouraging brown land to be redeveloped and repurposed”.

One site that the plan is considering is the Quidhampton Quarry near Bemerton Heath.

“This site was a quarry over 100 years ago and now sits derelict with no realistic prospect of being used or regenerated. Previous plans to restore the site have fallen through and it looks like the current proposal to use the site for industry is also unrealistic”.

The Steering Group says the site would be used to create an innovative new small community that is designed around recreational green space with an emphasis on community and home working.

“The current thought is that the site could provide 300-400 houses with a community hub and adventure trails that would be available to other communities to use, such as Bemerton Heath and Fisherton.

“We understand that Salisbury residents may be concerned about this and may feel that it is better to leave the site alone and that traffic access may be difficult. However, on the positive side, the site can provide much needed affordable housing for young families – this is something that is currently lacking in Salisbury and is unlikely to be provided without intervention”.

The Steering Group will be hosting a drop-in session on 3rd November 2021 from 2pm-7pm at the Harlequins Football Club to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal, and the potential development and solutions.

The Steering Group will be there to discuss the potential scheme with residents to learn how it should be improved or whether it needs to be reconsidered.

“Please come along to give your views”.