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Find out more about the proposals

The page below shows the pre-application consultation materials and information. It is important to note that the subsequent submitted plans incorporated some amendments in response to consultee feedback, such as minor changes to the layout, and a package of improvements to the public footpaths HIND6 and HIND30 to enhance accessibility between the village High St and the site for pedestrians, as well as those with pushchairs and wheelchair users.

To find out more about the submitted plans, including footpath improvements, please view the FAQs page on this website. The planning application documents can be viewed on Wiltshire Council’s website here.

Once you have had an opportunity to view the proposed proposed site layout and read the following overview of the proposals, please take a moment to let us know your views in the feedback questionnaire.

The development proposals

Informed by the recently “made” Neighbourhood Plan, C G Fry and Son is preparing a detailed full planning application for a high-quality development of 31 new family and affordable homes, landscaped public open space, and a new GP surgery for the village.

Click on the image below to find out about the development masterplan




The site and Hindon Neighbourhood Plan

The site is located on the north-eastern fringes of the village of Hindon. The site currently consists of  arable fields bounded by hedgerows. On the southern and western boundaries of the site lies East Street, a post-war development of housing.

The work to inform the Neighbourhood Plan included an extensive site selection process that resulted in the proposal to allocate this land at Chicklade Road/East Street as the most suitable site to deliver new homes and a surgery for the village. The Neighbourhood Plan was subsequently approved by the community following a referendum in May 2021 and has now been formally “made”. This means it is a key part of the policy framework, along with Wiltshire Council’s own policies, when determining planning applications.

C G Fry has worked closely with the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group and the local GP practice throughout the process of developing the Neighbourhood Plan and the emerging planning application is fully guided by the locally-set policy.

New family and affordable homes

The proposed development will deliver a mix of high quality homes, including 2, 3 and 4 bed family homes. In line with Wiltshire Council’s policy, 12 of the new homes will be designated as affordable homes for those with local connections who would otherwise be unable to afford to settle in Hindon.

A new GP surgery for Hindon

Hindon’s current surgery building is no longer fit for purpose, and the practice has for a number of years been keen to relocate to a more suitable building. The lease on the building is due to expire and the practice partners are due to retire, so there is therefore imperative to provide a new fit-for-purpose building to provide future GP provision in Hindon. Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group has committed to support continued GP provision in Hindon and the Neighbourhood Plan allocation for the site includes the provision of a new surgery. Working closely with the Parish Council and local GP practice, C G Fry will be submitting a full planning application that includes the new surgery as an integral part of the overall scheme.



Proposed GP surgery site plan



Proposed GP surgery floor plan



How the GP surgery could look



How the GP surgery could look

Other key issues for your feedback


Trees, hedgerows and public open space

We have done surveys of the trees and hedges around the site and the proposals take the advice of our arborist fully into account. Hedges will be bolstered with new planting where possible (see also below about ecology and biodiversity).

The proposed Public Open Space area is shown on the site layout plan elsewhere on this website. The proposed area of 0.67 hectares (1.65 acres) is more than twice the area required by Wiltshire Council’s policy and would be offered to the Parish Council on a long lease (probably 99 years) for a peppercorn rent. The area has access on foot from High Street via the Ridgeway footpath and would also have a vehicular access for maintenance only through the new housing development.

The big question is what happens with the open space area? There is some suggestion from Wiltshire Council that there should be some provision for older groups as the village already has a children’s play area; perhaps something like a “trim trail”. We would prefer the area to remain fairly informal and perhaps comprise a community orchard and informal plantings and paths. What view do you have, if any, on what specific uses this open space might be put to?

Access, highways and parking

The new scheme would be accessed off East Street using the existing turning just the Fonthill side of the Fellowship Club. You can see from the site layout plan that the intention is to change the priority of East Street so traffic can easily see it is meant to turn into the new scheme to get to the surgery and housing. The existing cul-de-sac part of East Street would become a turning off this access road helping to further reduce traffic speeds.

Our evidence suggests that little in the way of road and footpath improvements “off-site” are required for a scheme of this size but do you agree and if not, what do you think needs to be done? We will continue to work with Wiltshire Council’s Highways Team to adjust and amend our plans prior to the planning application in September but your views are also important.

Parking provision will be in accordance with current Wiltshire Council standards and all the garages will be built to a sufficient size to encourage cars to be parked in them and allow for some storage for items like bikes and recycling/wheelie bins.

Ecology and biodiversity

As most of the site has often been cropped, most of it is of very little ecological value. All the value is around the boundaries and the key issue is bats. The existing hedgerows are used by a number of species commuting to and from the Chilmark Quarries Special Area for Conservation and for foraging for food. The boundaries are maintained and enhanced for this purpose in these proposals.

In addition to this, Wiltshire Council will expect the scheme to demonstrate “biodiversity net gain” which means that we have to carry out a calculation to show that the proposals will enhance biodiversity in the medium and long-term. Our reports and suggestions will form part of the planning application.

Drainage

We have carried out work to establish the underlying ground conditions including groundwater monitoring during the wettest times of the year. We are confident that “soakaways” into the chalk sublayers will work on this site. We are aware that water can flow down Chicklade Road in times of high run off and we are looking at whether we can help arrest these flows at the bottom end of the site.

Landscape and heritage impacts

We are well aware that the site is in a sensitive location in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This was considered in detail during the Neighbourhood Plan process and its site selection process.  We have done a lot of work with our Landscape Architects to understand the visual impact of the site from a number of key vantage points and all this information has been used to inform our scheme design.  Below are three examples of this work that show how we built up our understanding of the locality and the site:



Constraints and opportunities plan (part one)



Constraints and opportunities plan (part two)



Landscape parameter plan

We have also been mindful of the impact of any development on the Conservation Area and listed buildings, including St John’s Church. We have carried out a Heritage Assessment that both informed the landscape work you can see above but also the scheme design itself to maintain key views of important assets like the church:



Perspective 1: View from Wessex Ridge Way



Perspective 2: New entrance to Hindon



Perspective 3: View from East Street



Perspective 4: View to St John's Church



Map indicating the viewpoints of the images above