NEW housing to be built on the outskirts of Salisbury is “bland” and “poorly designed,” according to councillors.
The city planning committee is objecting to the appearance of the 166-home Phase Three of the ongoing St Peter’s Place development, northwest of Fugglestone Red and Bemerton Heath.
Persimmon Homes is seeking approval from Wiltshire Council of the layout, scale, appearance and landscaping of the latest batch, which will include 102 private and 64 affordable homes.
But in an online meeting on Monday the city councillors, who have no right of approval or veto over the plans and can only submit comments, were scathing about the look of the buildings and voted to oppose them on design grounds.
Cllr Ian Tomes said: “I think they are horrible designs, uninspiring at the very least. They are just boxes, with no chimneys, no features. They are completely bland.”
Cllr Stephen Berry also spoke of “blandness” and “mediocrity”, saying they were “desperately, awfully poorly designed”.
Cllr John Lindley welcomed the fact that the houses will have studies, given the trend for home working.
But Cllr Tom Corbin suggested some people might think they were, in fact, getting an extra bedroom, although the rooms were too small for that.
And chairman John Farquhar wondered: “Are we potentially creating a ghetto here?”
No one spoke during the meeting in favour of the designs or on behalf of the developers.
The target date for Wiltshire’s decision is January 13.
If you want to see the architects' drawings for yourselves, look under 'planning' on the Wiltshire Council website and type in application number 20/08976.
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