An outline planning application has now been submitted for the Penn Hill site in Calne, a year after developers unveiled revised proposals for the controversial housing scheme.
Castlewood Properties Ventures Ltd has lodged an application for up to 210 homes, 0.75 hectares of employment land and extensive areas of green infrastructure on the 15-hectare plot to the north-east of the town. The submission marks the latest step in a long-running attempt to develop the land, which previously saw a 205-home proposal submitted in 2023 and later withdrawn following significant public opposition.
Last autumn the developer published updated concept plans showing a reduced housing total, revised access arrangements and more open space, which they said reflected feedback dating back to the 2022 and 2023 consultations. Those revisions included pulling development back from the south-east corner of the site, creating a larger landscape buffer, protecting existing rights of way and increasing allotment provision. Cycling connections between Sandpit Road and Oxford Road were also promoted as a key change, alongside adjustments to the drainage strategy.
The newly submitted outline application builds on that earlier work but increases the upper housing figure to 210. All detailed design matters are left to a later reserved matters stage, though the applicant is seeking to fix the access arrangements at this point. Vehicle access would be provided from the Oxford Road/Sycamore Drive roundabout via the neighbouring housing estate, with a pedestrian and cycle link - also capable of accommodating emergency vehicles, proposed onto Sand Pit Road.
The site itself is currently a mix of pastureland and small industrial units, with mature hedgerows and trees enclosing the boundaries. The existing farmhouse at the centre of the site lies outside the red line and would remain unchanged. The older industrial buildings, however, would be demolished to make way for new housing, employment space and public open space.
Green infrastructure accounts for more than half of the total site area, according to the application documents, with plans showing new woodland planting, orchards, wildflower meadows, play areas and a network of attenuation ponds and wetlands forming part of the sustainable drainage system.
Penn Hill has been one of Calne’s most contentious prospective development sites in recent years. When the 2023 application was submitted, Calne Town Council formally objected, raising concerns about the town’s capacity to absorb more large housing estates given pressures on employment, healthcare, sewage infrastructure and retail provision. Those issues - including historic flooding problems on the Regents Park estate, were also prominent in residents’ responses at the time.
Calne Town Council will consider the plans on 17th December at 6.30pm.
*image credit Castlewood Properties Ventures
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