At Monday’s (10 December) full meeting of the Town Council it was announced that Wiltshire Council had given advance warning that the children’s playground will have to close very soon.
This play area, very popular with the many families of young children is in the way of the developers so will have to close.
Shelley Parker, Marlborough’s Town Clerk told marlborough.news: “Wiltshire Council has let us know to expect the notice to terminate our licence for the play area on its land at Rabley Wood View very soon. Once we receive this formal notice then we will have three months to vacate the play area. We are also told that developers will be happy to come along to a public meeting early in the New Year to talk about their plans for the site.”
Whilst a new replacement play area was a key part of the plan that convinced Wiltshire’s planners to agree the proposal, against the overwhelming wishes of residents and the Town Council, there is no confirmation or confidence that this will eventually be provided.
Jayne Baker, a leading campaigner from the movement against the development of the play area told marlborough.news: “The outline planning permission currently approved for the play area is for 39 houses, but we are very worried that any developer taking on this site will apply to change the quantity, type and/or layout of the planned estate during the application process for full planning permission to increase their profit margins.”
She added: “The fact that the town will lose a much loved and well-used recreational area during the building of the new estate just shows how little consideration Wiltshire Council gives to their electorates views, or those of our Town Councillors. We have no confidence at all that Wiltshire Planning Department will ever enforce the requirement for a replacement play area to be provided in the water meadow as stated in the outline planning permission.”
Marlborough.news will bring news of any public meeting regarding this area as soon as it is announced.