House to be demolished to make way for 17 homes

A house in Downton will be demolished to make way for up to 17 homes after councillors granted outline permission for the plans.Scotts House, a two-storey red brick house opposite the industrial estate, is currently termed a ‘house in multiple occupation’ with 11 units.In April 2016 an outline application for up to 25 homes on the same site was refused for reasons including that the site was outside the development boundary for Downton and the plans were “at odds” with the existing character of the area.They included a layout plan suggesting the proposed development would comprise a mix of three, four and five-bed semi-detached and detached two-storey houses along with a children’s play area. Five houses would be affordable homes.While the 0.79 hectare site is not in the Wiltshire Core Strategy, it does form part of the council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) and is also within the new village neighbourhood plan drawn up by Downton Parish Council.The parish council supported the application provided approval is given both to the oversubscribed village primary school’s extension plans and the village hall extension plans.