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Fears over new homes in Chippenham
A plan to build new homes on the site of Chippenham's ambulance station has sparked traffic chaos fears.
Families living near the site in Malmesbury Road said the scheme by developer Barton Willmore to build 62 houses and industrial units and build a new access road on to Malmesbury Road will mean hundreds of extra cars on an already busy road.
Under the plan the ambulance station and offices will be relocated to the Bath Road industrial estate.
Barton Willmore held a secret meeting with a number of nearby Laines Head residents last Friday to discuss its plans.
The plan has angered many residents as they fear traffic chaos.
Anne Orchard, of Malmesbury Road, said: "This will be a complete nightmare if these plans go through but there is also concern that the people in north Wiltshire are going to lose this vital ambulance service.
"At the minute the ambulances are just seconds away from getting to incidents on the M4 and to homes around the town centre. If they move further away their call-out times will be longer and lives could be put at risk.
"Another factor is that if ASDA win its planning appeal for a huge store at the end of the road, we will all be sandwiched in between two huge sites.
"What has fuelled the opposition even more is that the developer held a little secret meeting and so most of the people around here have no idea what the plan is."
Jean Simons, who also lives on Malmesbury Road, said: "I cannot believe this plan would even be considered. The ambulance station has been there for so many years it is an institution.
"The road is a nightmare at the minute anyway and if there were more cars coming in and out of a new housing estate it will be lethal.
"I call on all the people of Chippenham to oppose these plans and take a stand before our town becomes one big housing site."
A spokesman for the Great Western Ambulance Service said: "We have identified a potential site at Bath Road industrial estate and have submitted an application for change of use.
"Patient care is our main priority and we can assure the public that there will continue to be an ambulance station in Chippenham.
Town and district councillor Nina Phillips said that traffic would be the biggest issue with the development.
She said: "Traffic has been bad on that road for ages. I think the Highways Agency will have a lot to answer for if these plans are given the go ahead."
Barton Willmore refused to make any comment on the scheme.
9:39am Thursday 17th July 2008
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CommentPosted by: moonraker1, chippenham on 9:55am Thu 17 Jul 08
Dont forget that putting houses on this site will put Birds Marsh underthreat.
Dont forget that putting houses on this site will put Birds Marsh underthreat.
Posted by: mich, chippenham on 11:38am Thu 17 Jul 08
I live on Malmesbury Road and the traffic and got steadily worse. Lorries sometimes go 60 mph!! We dont need another housing estate or an ASDA.
I live on Malmesbury Road and the traffic and got steadily worse. Lorries sometimes go 60 mph!! We dont need another housing estate or an ASDA.
Posted by: moonraker1, chippenham on 12:04pm Thu 17 Jul 08
100s of School children need to cross those roads every day, and its their lives being put at risk.
100s of School children need to cross those roads every day, and its their lives being put at risk.
Posted by: DingDonG, looking for good prices on 6:23pm Thu 17 Jul 08
mich,chippenham says[quote]We dont need another housing estate or an ASDA.[/quote]
Oh yes we DO need an ASDA...Frome is too far.
mich,chippenham says
We dont need another housing estate or an ASDA.
Oh yes we DO need an ASDA...Frome is too far.
Posted by: John, Chippenham on 8:18am Fri 18 Jul 08
[quote][bold]DingDonG[/bold] wrote:
mich,chippenham says[quote]We dont need another housing estate or an ASDA.[/quote] Oh yes we DO need an ASDA...Frome is too far. [/quote] Go to Swindon then, they've got 2, and they're better placed for access than the one they want to build here will be, personnally I wish they build better leisure/ entertainment facilities than more houses & supermarkets.
DingDonG wrote:
mich,chippenham saysWe dont need another housing estate or an ASDA.
Oh yes we DO need an ASDA...Frome is too far.
Go to Swindon then, they've got 2, and they're better placed for access than the one they want to build here will be, personnally I wish they build better leisure/ entertainment facilities than more houses & supermarkets.
Posted by: pebbles, Chippenham on 9:24am Fri 18 Jul 08
No need to go all the way to Swindon or Frome to Asda - there is one in Trowbridge! How about providing a decent cinema complex, bowling alley, etc for the people of Chippenham - everywhere else seems to have them! Oh that's right, sorry, the council are more concerned with building themselves lovely plus offices and providing sites for gypsies! Forgive us for thinking that tax-payers money should be spent actually on us!!!!
No need to go all the way to Swindon or Frome to Asda - there is one in Trowbridge! How about providing a decent cinema complex, bowling alley, etc for the people of Chippenham - everywhere else seems to have them! Oh that's right, sorry, the council are more concerned with building themselves lovely plus offices and providing sites for gypsies! Forgive us for thinking that tax-payers money should be spent actually on us!!!!
Posted by: chipper, chippenham on 11:44am Fri 18 Jul 08
Ah, wonderful Chippenham - a bloody great big housing estate somewhere between Swindon and Bristol, where lots of people live, but they have nothing to do. :(
Ah, wonderful Chippenham - a bloody great big housing estate somewhere between Swindon and Bristol, where lots of people live, but they have nothing to do. :(
Posted by: TC, hippenham on 1:12pm Fri 18 Jul 08
Who's crazy enough to build houses right now. Complete non starter unless they think they can develop the land for a song.
Who's crazy enough to build houses right now. Complete non starter unless they think they can develop the land for a song.
Posted by: JeffCollymore, Chippenham on 4:00pm Fri 18 Jul 08
This is a pretty lazy, scare-mongering piece of journalism. Having been at the 'secret meeting'(which was actually a publicised consutation event) the impression I got was that the people who actually live closest to the site were generally supportive of the re-development. In reality, the traffic generated by the development will not dramatically alter what already occurs at the ambulance station. I should also point out the the first sentence of this article is 100% inaccurate. As I understand it Barton Willmore are architects and planners not 'developers', the proposals are for 65 dwellings and offices, not 62 houses and industrial units, and there will not be a new access road, the existing access will be retained.
This is a pretty lazy, scare-mongering piece of journalism. Having been at the 'secret meeting'(which was actually a publicised consutation event) the impression I got was that the people who actually live closest to the site were generally supportive of the re-development. In reality, the traffic generated by the development will not dramatically alter what already occurs at the ambulance station. I should also point out the the first sentence of this article is 100% inaccurate. As I understand it Barton Willmore are architects and planners not 'developers', the proposals are for 65 dwellings and offices, not 62 houses and industrial units, and there will not be a new access road, the existing access will be retained.
Posted by: The Maxter, Chippenham on 12:02pm Mon 21 Jul 08
The NIMBYs of Malmesbury road make their voices heard again. NO ASDA, NO TESCO, NO HOUSES, NO TRAFFIC, NO SEX PLEASE WE LIVE ON MALMESBURY ROAD!!! And so on...
So where do YOU do your shopping? Thats right, you jump in your car and create traffic in the other areas of town. Bet you wanted Sainsburys didn't you? were willing to sacrifice the open spaces to the west of town to get it weren't you?
Well now its your turn...what goes around comes around..
The NIMBYs of Malmesbury road make their voices heard again. NO ASDA, NO TESCO, NO HOUSES, NO TRAFFIC, NO SEX PLEASE WE LIVE ON MALMESBURY ROAD!!! And so on...
So where do YOU do your shopping? Thats right, you jump in your car and create traffic in the other areas of town. Bet you wanted Sainsburys didn't you? were willing to sacrifice the open spaces to the west of town to get it weren't you?
Well now its your turn...what goes around comes around..
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