Councillors in Malmesbury have issued a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the leadership of Wiltshire Council after decisions have been made which they say have not followed best practice or consultation.
Town councillors decided at a meeting on Thursday October 3 to go public about their anger around two important planning applications which affect the town and a Wiltshire Council decision on the future of the Riverside Community Centre, which could mean its closure in Spring 2026.
Town Mayor Cllr Phil Exton said “We’ve been debating these matters for some time and asked questions of Wiltshire Council Leader Cllr Richard Clewer. The answers have been incomplete to say the least. It’s time for the people of Malmesbury to be told about these planning failures and the threat to the future of Riverside.”
The first case involves a planning application for up to 26 self-build homes on land alongside the A429 by-pass opposite Waitrose in the neighbouring parish of St Paul Malmesbury Without. This application was turned down and then went to appeal. The inspector allowed the application because Wiltshire Council has failed in its duty to provide sufficient plots of self-build across the county.
In his judgement granting the appeal, the Inspector said of Wiltshire Council: “…Without this evidence the Council has not satisfactorily demonstrated that it has granted enough permissions to meet the demonstrated demand for self-build development in its area, and the level of self-build delivery in its area is far worse than that suggested by its data.”
Cllr James Slade, who chairs the Town Council Planning & Environment Committee said, “An application to build a supermarket on this site was already rejected with serious concerns on highway safety and extending development across the by-pass onto a greenfield site. Now Malmesbury has to pay the price and live with this development.”
The second case involves a plot of agricultural land running down to the River Avon behind Waitrose where a planning application to erect a large farm building was submitted in May 2023. Malmesbury Town Council objected to this. Wiltshire Council failed to decide on the application, which they were minded to refuse, within the designated period of time. As a result, the application has now gone to appeal to be decided by a Planning Inspector.
Town Councillor and Wiltshire Councillor for Malmesbury Cllr Gavin Grant said “The failure of Wiltshire Council to decide to accept or reject this application in a timely manner has denied Wiltshire councillors the opportunity to examine the application and make a decision based on its merits. Instead, it is going to yet another appeal with an Inspector from outside the area making the decision.”
The final straw for Malmesbury Town Council relates to the future of the well-used and volunteer run Riverside Community Centre in Gloucester Road, also home to the Malmesbury Indoor Skatepark. The building is privately owned and leased to Wiltshire Council. Without consultation or involving Malmesbury Town Council or the Friends of Riverside, Wiltshire Council has decided it will exercise an early exit clause in July 2025 and will not continue with the lease after Spring 2026.
Cllr Steve D’Arcy who chairs the Town Council Policy & Resources Committee said, “This is a valuable community facility used by many groups including social clubs for the elderly, activity sessions for toddlers, and exercise and interest classes for everyone as well as the NHS and Police on occasions.
“Behind the scenes we’ve asked Cllr Clewer why this successful centre is now under threat, and he has told us that Wiltshire Council wants Malmesbury Town Council to take on this responsibility. It has offered to pay the rent for the community centre only up to February 2025 if Malmesbury Town Council then takes on the long-term lease and the responsibilities which go with running and maintaining it as a local asset.”
Cllr D’Arcy continued, “We are utterly appalled at Wiltshire Council’s decision concerning this very important community resource, its implications for local residents and the extra costs it is seeking to impose on local council taxpayers. We know the owner of the building would like it to remain as a community centre but the cost of maintaining, or even buying the building and paying staff wages would be a significant additional overhead for the town. With the extra income Wiltshire Council will receive from new house builds in Malmesbury, there can be no justification for abandoning this support to our growing community”
Malmesbury Town Council is now formally asking Wiltshire Council to reverse its decision around the Riverside Community Centre.
Planning application for self build is here - https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z000016UAsDAAW/pl202109852
Planning application 2 is here – https://development.wiltshire.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i3z00001AbCFvAAN/pl202303637
For any more information or to talk to a relevant councillor about these matters, please contact media consultant Fiona Scott on 07789 270030 or email
