New homes on land north of Common Hill

Land north of Common Hill is located on the western edge of Cricklade, across two areas of land separated by Stones Lane.

The southern area, which is where all of the new homes will be positioned, is made up of 3 connected fields. It is bounded by the B4040 (also known as Common Hill or Malmesbury Road) to the south, by fields to the west, a proposed Bloor Homes scheme to the east, and the single-track Stones Lane to the north.  The land is divided by and bounded by a series of hedgerows and tree belts, and wherever possible these shall be retained and integrated into the development. The land slopes gently from its high point in the south west corner down to the north eastern corner, and the new homes will be set back from the high point to help minimise the visual impact of the proposed development.

The second, smaller, area of land lies to the north of the first, on the other side of Stone’s Lane. The second area is bounded to the south west by Stones Lane, and the north east by a disused railway line, that is now a public footpath. It is bounded on its other sides by fields.

All four fields are currently used for pasture, and total to 20.72 hectares or 51.2 acres

There is an existing ESSO high pressure oil pipeline which runs along the eastern boundary of the site. Esso have been consulted and they have confirmed that a 6m clearance will be required either side of the pipe and this has been factored into the layout of our proposal.

In recent years there has been a growing national recognition of the scale of the housing crisis in the UK, which has driven a national house-building mission spear-headed by the Government. Wiltshire and the Cricklade area are not immune to this situation, and Wiltshire Council has seen its housing target increased significantly in recent years.

Wiltshire Council’s ‘Local Plan Review’, which seeks to guide development in the County over the next 10-15 years is still under examination by the national Planning Inspectorate. A letter from the Planning Inspectorate to Wiltshire Council in December 2025 highlighted several major concerns with the Review.

In the meantime, there is an urgent need for new homes, with Wiltshire Council currently unable to demonstrate an adequate housing land supply. Our proposals will help to address these issues in a sustainable and logical location. Both the current Local Plan and emerging Review identify Cricklade as a ‘Local Service Centre’ with a good range of facilities and services, with the current Plan acknowledging  “Some housing development is necessary in Cricklade to help facilitate the delivery of improvements to the retail offer and other facilities in the town”.

As part of gaining planning consent, any housebuilder that develops the site will pay a sum of money known as a ‘Community Infrastructure Levy’ (CIL) to Wiltshire Council, as well as entering into a ‘Section 106’ agreement. Both of these will ensure that funds raised from the new development are reinvested into infrastructure and community facilities in the area around Cricklade.