The latest changes and developments planned across Wiltshire

Man who moved into Corsham stable can stay after appeal A man who moved into a "primitive" stable and lived there for more than four years has won the right to stay in his home. In 2024, Wiltshire Council refused permission for Michel Clarke to live in a stable he built at Spiderwebs Corner, Kingsdown, near Corsham.

Despite sworn statements, the council refused to believe that he had been living at the unregistered property for more than four years - the threshold at which a Lawful Development Certificate can be granted. Mr Clarke appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, and last week a planning inspector found in his favour. The inspector noted that from the outside, the building resembled the stable it was originally designed to be.

But inside, he found rugs, furniture, a kitchen worktop and a gas stove. "It is clear in this case that the building has been, and is, used as a dwellinghouse," the inspector ruled. Plans to demolish two Westbury homes and build 165 houses

Plans to demolish two houses and build 165 in a Wiltshire town have been revealed. Strategic land promoter Gladman wants to knock down two houses on Storridge Road, Westbury and build 165 houses on 10 hectares of farmland behind. The proposed development site lies on the northern and western edge of an existing housing estate called The Ham.

A plan for 200 homes on the same site was rejected in 2024. And it is next to a site for which planning permission was granted for 145 homes in 2024. Numbers 5 and 6 Storridge Road would be demolished to make way for an access road.

Full access to all of our articles online and on the app, fewer adverts, a better reading experience, exclusive competitions and more - all for less than the price of a cup of coffee. ?Subscribe now! - https://t.co/AQ9XF2gcO2 pic.twitter.com/bYvsD2lw5e [1][2] -- Gazette & Herald (@wiltsgazette) April 13, 2026 [3] Plan for house in Wiltshire restaurant car park refused

Plans to build a house in the car park of an Indian restaurant have been thwarted, after a planning inspector backed Wiltshire Council's refusal to grant planning permission. In December 2024, planning consultant Clark & Maslin lodged a planning application to build a detached house in the overflow car park of The Spice Merchant, on the outskirts of Malmesbury, having been told that an initial plan for two homes was likely to be rejected. The consultant proposed a two-storey, three-bedroom house on the car park.

Malmesbury Town Council objected to the application, noting the site's proximity to Conygre Nature Reserve next to the River Avon. Refusing the application, Wiltshire Council said that the house would be out of keeping with the Conservation Area and adversely affect the "distinctive character and appearance" of the gateway to the town. Last week, a planning inspector ruled the proposed house would "interrupt the existing, pleasant views of the woodland, particularly from the northern and eastern directions from a main route into the town.

"The intrusive siting of the building adjacent to the woodland means it would not relate positively to the sensitive landscape setting of the edge of the town," they said. Pet Shop frontage rebuilt after lorry crash A retailer whose shopfront was destroyed after a lorry ploughed into scaffolding is celebrating the completion of repairs - five months after the incident.

The incident happened in the early hours of January 5, causing damage to several shopfronts on the A4 London Road in Marlborough. An eyewitness reported that an HGV driver collided with scaffolding poles, taking out three bay windows in the rank of 18th-century shopfronts. The owner of Marlborough Pets, which sits in the Marlborough Conservation Area, was forced to obtain listed building consent before work on the Grade II-listed building could start.

With planning permission granted on May 22 builders, joiners, and glaziers got to work - with the new, yet familiar, look being unveiled at the weekend.

For the latest public notices and planning applications in your area, visit www.publicnoticeportal.uk [4]

References

^ https://t.co/AQ9XF2gcO2 (t.co)
^ pic.twitter.com/bYvsD2lw5e (t.co)
^ April 13, 2026 (twitter.com)
^ www.publicnoticeportal.uk (www.publicnoticeportal.uk)