Land South of Western Way, Melksham

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• the suitability of the location for the proposed development having regard to the policies of the development plan
• the position of the Council with regard to a 5-year supply of deliverable housing sites, including the status of the Neighbourhood Plan
• whether the requirements of the Council in terms of the need for affordable housing, the provision of open space, the provision of public art, healthcare provision, public transport provision, strategic transport provision and waste collection provision are necessary in terms of paragraph 57 of the National Planning Policy Framework and Regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 and, if these requirements are found to be necessary, whether they are capable of being addressed through an agreed planning obligation

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a 5-year supply of deliverable housing sites rendered the settlement boundary policies out-of-date and reduced them to limited weight, allowing the benefits of the scheme to outweigh the policy conflict.

the substantial weight given to the benefits of housing delivery, affordable housing, the care home and economic benefits outweighed the limited weight given to the conflict with the settlement boundary policies, such that adverse impacts did not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the Framework as a whole