Land at Midge Hall Farm, North of Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire
Proposed Residential Development & Community Facilities
About the Site
This site totals 24.31 hectares (60.1 acres) of agricultural (arable) field parcels and is located immediately north of Royal Wootton Bassett.
The site is adjoined by vehicular routes, including Swindon Road (A3102) to the south and Hook Road (B4042) to the west. There is also a service station to the immediate south of the site which is located on the northern side of Swindon Road.
To the west of the site, beyond Hook Road, is Marsh Farm Hotel. Further west (approximately 300m from the site) is Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association, which includes a number of outdoor sports pitches, and is also the home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Football Club.
The M4 motorway is located approximately 200m to the north of Midge Hall Farm.
The Village of Hook is located approximately 500m to the north and the town of Swindon is located approximately 3km to the northeast.
Pressure On Existing Infrastructure - Schools, Doctors And Other Local Services
If planning permission is granted for our proposals, it would be accompanied by a legal agreement known as a S106 agreement requiring the housebuilder to make direct provision or financial contributions towards the improvement of local infrastructure. This could include things such as transport infrastructure, education, health and leisure.
In addition to the S106 legal agreement, a Community Infrastructure Levy charge development will also be paid to the Council to fund the provision and improvement of local infrastructure.
Up to 15% of the Community Infrastructure Levy receipts will be passed to Lydiard Tregoze Parish Council, to spend on their own planned infrastructure and community projects in their area.
Planning Application
We will be submitting an outline planning application with all matters reserved (excluding access). Outline planning applications seek to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the Local Planning Authority, before a fully detailed proposal is put forward.
Where outline permission has been granted, and within three years of the outline approval, an application for the outstanding reserved matters can be submitted, i.e. the information excluded from the initial outline planning application. This will typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development.
Statutory consultees (eg. Environment Agency, Highways England, Natural England and Parish Councils) and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Local Authority.
Benefits To The Economy
The economic benefits of new housing development are significant. A study by the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) demonstrates that construction projects have a significant benefit on the local and wider economy. The report concludes that for every £1 of construction expenditure, £2.84 is injected into the economy.
New development will be key to aiding economic recovery at both a local and national level following the Covid pandemic. The proposed development of new homes, offers the opportunity to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, assist in meeting local housing need and add to the Local Authority’s revenue, as a result of an increase in Council Tax revenue stream and the New Homes Bonus.
The delivery of new homes and the introduction of new residents will also help support existing local businesses, services and groups.
Catesby Estates promotes allocated site for new homes and community facilities in Wiltshire.
Catesby Estates are promoting land North of Royal Wootton Bassett with potential for new homes and community facilities, including a policy compliant percentage of affordable housing.
This site forms a draft allocation within the emerging Regulation 19 Wiltshire Local Plan (WLP) under policy 49 ‘Land at Midge Hall Farm, Royal Wootton Bassett’.
The land was also identified within the Strategic Housing & Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) as site 3366.
At a Full Council meeting (held 15th October 2024), Councillors passed the Local Plan for submission to the Secretary of State for Examination.
The land site is in a sustainable location close to the town of Royal Wootton Bassett which provides a wide range of services and facilities.
Our in-house planning and technical teams will be now be working with Wiltshire Councill to bring this site forward for housing and community facilities.
Site Specifics
60.1 Acre Site (24.3 Hectares)
425 New Homes
Range of New Homes. Up to 425 homes with a mix of house sizes and types, ranging from 1 to 5 bed houses to meet local policy requirements and identified need.
Affordable Housing. 40% affordable housing (i.e., up to 170 affordable homes).
Affordable housing is a combination of discounted rent, discounted sale (for first time buyers) and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market.
This will assist those looking for their first home, and lower income individuals and families get on the housing ladder in Royal Wootton Bassett.
Education. New Primary School with Pre-School Nursery (circa 2 hectares/ 4.9 acres).
Mixed Use Centre (circa 0.32 hectares/ 0.8 acres) And Employment Use (circa 0.8 hectares/ 1.9 acres).
The mixed use centre could provide retail, community café or leisure type facilities.
The employment use area would be available for commercial, business and service uses, including offices.
Extensive Public Open Space.
A wide range of spaces will be incorporated onsite including:
- Natural green space/wetland area
- Woodland
- Neighbourhood Equipped Area of Play (NEAP)
- Local Areas of Play (LAP)
Community Allotments. These will be provided onsite as additional community facilities.
Walking and Cycling. The proposals will include a high quality on-site network of active travel options, with walking and cycling routes.
These will in turn link to improvements for pedestrians and cyclists on the surrounding highway network and existing Public Right Of Ways (PRoWs) including on and off road routes and crossings.
Flooding And Drainage. The Environment Agency Flood Map For Planning shows the whole site to be located in Flood Zone 1.
This is land at the lowest risk of fluvial (river) flooding, and the proposed masterplan takes into account surface water (pluvial) overland flow routes, utilising the topography to maintain these and create blue/green corridors for drainage.
Highways And Access. Primary vehicular access is proposed off Swindon Road (A3102) to the south and Hook Road (B4042) to the west.
A Transport Assessment (TA) will be submitted with the planning application, this will detail the development proposals, site accessibility, forecast trip generation and will assess the operation of the highway network in both safety and capacity terms both with and without the development (in agreement with Wiltshire Highways)
Public Consultation. This was carried in November/December 2024.
About the Site
This site totals 24.31 hectares (60.1 acres) of agricultural (arable) field parcels and is located immediately north of Royal Wootton Bassett.
The site is adjoined by vehicular routes, including Swindon Road (A3102) to the south and Hook Road (B4042) to the west. There is also a service station to the immediate south of the site which is located on the northern side of Swindon Road.
To the west of the site, beyond Hook Road, is Marsh Farm Hotel. Further west (approximately 300m from the site) is Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association, which includes a number of outdoor sports pitches, and is also the home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Football Club.
The M4 motorway is located approximately 200m to the north of Midge Hall Farm.
The Village of Hook is located approximately 500m to the north and the town of Swindon is located approximately 3km to the northeast.
Pressure On Existing Infrastructure - Schools, Doctors And Other Local Services
If planning permission is granted for our proposals, it would be accompanied by a legal agreement known as a S106 agreement requiring the housebuilder to make direct provision or financial contributions towards the improvement of local infrastructure. This could include things such as transport infrastructure, education, health and leisure.
In addition to the S106 legal agreement, a Community Infrastructure Levy charge development will also be paid to the Council to fund the provision and improvement of local infrastructure.
Up to 15% of the Community Infrastructure Levy receipts will be passed to Lydiard Tregoze Parish Council, to spend on their own planned infrastructure and community projects in their area.
Planning Application
We will be submitting an outline planning application with all matters reserved (excluding access). Outline planning applications seek to establish whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the Local Planning Authority, before a fully detailed proposal is put forward.
Where outline permission has been granted, and within three years of the outline approval, an application for the outstanding reserved matters can be submitted, i.e. the information excluded from the initial outline planning application. This will typically include information about the layout, scale and appearance of the development.
Statutory consultees (eg. Environment Agency, Highways England, Natural England and Parish Councils) and local residents will also have the opportunity to formally comment on the applications once they are submitted and registered with the Local Authority.
Benefits To The Economy
The economic benefits of new housing development are significant. A study by the Confederation of British Industries (CBI) demonstrates that construction projects have a significant benefit on the local and wider economy. The report concludes that for every £1 of construction expenditure, £2.84 is injected into the economy.
New development will be key to aiding economic recovery at both a local and national level following the Covid pandemic. The proposed development of new homes, offers the opportunity to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, assist in meeting local housing need and add to the Local Authority’s revenue, as a result of an increase in Council Tax revenue stream and the New Homes Bonus.
The delivery of new homes and the introduction of new residents will also help support existing local businesses, services and groups.
Catesby Estates promotes allocated site for new homes and community facilities in Wiltshire.
Catesby Estates are promoting land North of Royal Wootton Bassett with potential for new homes and community facilities, including a policy compliant percentage of affordable housing.
This site forms a draft allocation within the emerging Regulation 19 Wiltshire Local Plan (WLP) under policy 49 ‘Land at Midge Hall Farm, Royal Wootton Bassett’.
The land was also identified within the Strategic Housing & Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) as site 3366.
At a Full Council meeting (held 15th October 2024), Councillors passed the Local Plan for submission to the Secretary of State for Examination.
The land site is in a sustainable location close to the town of Royal Wootton Bassett which provides a wide range of services and facilities.
Our in-house planning and technical teams will be now be working with Wiltshire Councill to bring this site forward for housing and community facilities.
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