Wiltshire Council receives more than 2,500 responses to Tory house-building plans

The consultation on the Wiltshire Local Plan review has now ended.

The council still has many responses to process, so the final figure will rise significantly above the 2,500 currently registered.

Cabinet Member for Planning, said: "the Local Plan review consultation had an excellent response from residents, businesses and organisations such as town and parish councils, and I'd like to thank them all for taking the time to share their views in letters, emails and through our online forms.

"The officers will now review all the responses received and spend some time processing and considering the wealth of differing and passionate views provided by our communities and other stakeholders, before taking the Plan to the next stage and preparing a consultation report for Cabinet.

"The outcomes of this consultation will inform the preparation of the draft Local Plan, which we will then consult on once again, either at the end of this year or early next. It is vitally important that we continue to make progress on the plan, so we have the right supply of sites for new homes in the right places to meet requirements set by Government.

"The Local Plan will help to shape the next 15 years of development in Wiltshire, so it is great that so many people have taken the time to let us know what they think."

The Local Plan consultation ran from Wednesday 13 January until Tuesday 9 March, and the council had to take a different approach, as COVID restrictions meant that it could not hold face-to-face events. Instead, it held 17 online events, which were well attended by more than 1,300 people - exceeding the number of attendees at similar in-person events.

The council will now review the responses before another consultation on a draft Plan, which is likely to put forward the same sites, later this year.