Campaign For A Better Trowbridge Report

While surfing the internet, I came across an article on Trowbridge on the South West Wiltshire Liberal Democrats site that I found to be rather interesting. The article, ‘Campaign for a better Trowbridge sets out views on development’ is talking about how campaign members have written to the Trowbridge Area Board in order to set out their views on what needs to be done to improve Trowbridge as its position of county town of Wiltshire.

Trowbridge is a town that has the possibility to grow and develop, but it seems to stall every time something is due to happen. Instead of a cinema or bowling alley being built, more houses are built, or more units for shops that only seem to slowly be filled – some left empty for months and months.

The campaign for a better Trowbridge lay out the following 10 points on Trowbridge, I’ve edited some down, so please do read the original article.

• The Wiltshire Annual Monitoring Report for 2010 explains how much housing we have built over the years, and how much is in the pipeline. Nearly 10,000 new dwellings were built in West Wiltshire between 1996/1997 and 2010. Trowbridge was 684 houses above even the target set by the structure plan. The majority of new homes are in the wider Trowbridge area.

• The excuse for so much development was that it would "regenerate" West Wiltshire. This works for good quality brown - field development but the problem is that much of what was built and most of what is further proposed is on greenfields, often nothing to do with the town.

• How has the eastern expansion of Melksham contributed to the vitality of its town centre? Why is Westbury so desolate even after 1,000 new houses were recently built on its edge? Why is Trowbridge so very empty (compared to, say, Salisbury which is of a similar size?)

• Trowbridge, in particular, has been told again and again that bigger is better, but, as we have seen, an incredible number of new houses and employment areas on greenfield land is no assurance of a better town.

• We are concerned that, with many members of the cabinet coming from rural parts of the county, they are pleased to lumber Trowbridge with housing that more upmarket places might not want. They seem uninterested in Trowbridge town centre - they are not "urban people" - and instead have fixated themselves in a linear approach to development - the "A350 growth corridor". Equally, Bath sees West Wiltshire as a convenient dumping ground for the houses they don’t want built on their greenfields and now, even their lorries which they want to redirect through West Wiltshire by imposing a weight limit over the Cleveland Bridge.

• There is a risk that developer contributions from greenfield site developments between Trowbridge and the surrounding villages will all go to A350 improvements and large distributor roads. All this greenfield development does nothing for Trowbridge - the - town except produce more "could be anywhere" sprawl and ruin our countryside.

• Campaign For A Better Trowbridge believes we have had too much development in the area. We have seen very little progress with the various "visions" for the town itself put forward in the last 10 or 12 years.

• New employment is needed in town, not in more business parks outside. We are opposed to the 30 acre business park on a valuable greenfield site NW of Biss Farm on West Ashton Road. We have very many vacant sites on employment areas - why do we need another business park being put forward?

• West Wiltshire MP, Dr Andrew Murrison summed up what is at stake when he wrote to Wiltshire Council last year, urging the planning authority to reject the application for this 30 acre business park on greenfield land.

• Dr Murrison also wrote in the Wiltshire Times on 25th March and the White Horse News on 31st March this year: "Plans are afoot to build on more greenfields around the county town of Trowbridge. This would swallow up some of the close - in villages and reduce the amenity enjoyed by people in the town, particularly those on the fringes. The question is whose interests this will serve. There is no doubt that we need more affordable housing for local need and quality employment opportunities, but let's develop derelict sites in the town itself before we concrete more countryside.”

• The Trowbridge Community Area Future (TCAF) reported to the Trowbridge Area Board meeting on 5th May this year that 450+ jobs will be lost at Virgin Media and 200+ jobs lost at Vodafone; also 230 Wiltshire Council managers will lose their jobs with more junior staff to follow. TCAF said they will need to meet with Wiltshire Council, Transforming Trowbridge, Trowbridge Town Council, Wessex Chamber of Commerce and the Mid and West Wiltshire Economic Partnership to agree a practical way to make Trowbridge an attractive town for developers to invest in. Progress at Trowbridge Town has been frustratingly slow with too much emphasis on a Masterplan and too little emphasis on what would make Trowbridge more attractive and how this can be achieved quickly.

How do you feel about the points that have been raised on Trowbridge?