Anger over controversial plans for new road and thousands of homes around Chippenham

  • Watch Caron Bell's report.

People in Chippenham are being asked for their opinions on a controversial new road around the town that would pave the way for 7,500 new houses on greenfield land.

Wiltshire Council, which has secured government funding for the distributor road, says it has to meet government housebuilding targets, but the plans have caused fury among environmentalists.

They say the development would be about the same size as the nearby town of Calne and threatens beautiful countryside in the Avon and Marden Valley.

The three possible routes for the new Chippenham Distributor Road. Credit: ITV West Country

There are three possible routes for the new road, all starting at the Lackham College roundabout, heading through fields, and joining up again to the north east.

The road would connect the north east and southern parts of the town to the A350, with the work also including improvements to Junction 17 of the M4. 

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition against the plans, which, they say, will transform the feel of Chippenham and its surroundings.

Wiltshire Council has to meet government housebuilding targets. Credit: ITV West Country

Wiltshire Council says 40% of the new homes would be classed as 'affordable'. It argues that it must meet government housebuilding targets and it is far better to build houses near existing centres like Chippenham.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, leader of Wiltshire Council, said it was more sensible to put in a road first rather than have to add one along with other amenities afterwards.

He said, "Instead of what normally happens - which is that after the 200th house you get a roundabout, after the 1,000th house, you might get a new school - we can put all that infrastructure in first and we can do so in a way that allows us to masterplan.

"Rather than, what normally happens, you build the houses first, then you cause a problem, then you try to fix the problem."

Campaigners say the road would destroy valuable countryside and would lead to even more development. Credit: ITV West Country

Environmentalists question the need for so many new houses. They point to the thousands of empty homes, the brownfield sites that could be built on and their claims that Britain is already one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

Steve Perry is chair of CAUSE Wiltshire, which is campaigning against what it sees as the over-development and urban sprawl to the east of Chippenham. He thinks the distributor road will be the start of a slippery slope.

He said: "If the council gets its way, the road will open the land up for many more houses to come in the future, and the fact the road is there, means that those houses will come."

The consultation on the Future Chippenham Road Route runs until 5pm on Friday 12 March. More details can be found here.