Council gives go-ahead for 112 houses on scrapyard

Plans to build more than 100 houses on a vacant scrapyard have been given the go-ahead nearly four years after they were first submitted.

In 2022, Stantonbury Building and Development Company asked Wiltshire Council for permission to build 112 homes at Upside in Melksham, demolishing disused buildings on the site in the process.

Public open spaces, footpaths and cycleways and 675 sqm of flexible employment or commercial space also form part of the plan.

The application says 30% of the homes would be designated "affordable".

The developer said the site is currently "unsightly" and near the centre of Melksham," which does not leave a good first impression" for people arriving by train.

"Redevelopment of the site provides the opportunity to open up the site and integrate it into the surrounding area," they added.

The residential development will consist of a mixture of homes ranging from one and two-bed apartments and two, three and four-bed houses, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was told.

The site lies between South Brook – which is prone to flooding – and the railway line and the busy Bath Road.

To mitigate, the developer said it intends to create a public open space on the bank of the river, while ensuring houses face into the development not outwards to the road and railway track.

The developer will also construct a footpath between Foundary Road and the railway station.

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