Snarlton Farm Melksham Appeal Allowed for 300 Homes

On 28 July 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published a decision letter confirming that Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, had allowed the recovered appeal at land south of Snarlton Farm in Melksham. The decision grants outline planning permission for up to 300 dwellings, along with land for community use or a community building, open space, dedicated play space, service infrastructure and associated works. (gov.uk) This matters because the scheme had first been refused by Wiltshire Council on 5 August 2025, then tested at a public inquiry which opened on 20 January 2026. So this is not a fresh application landing out of nowhere; it is the end of a formal appeal process that moved from the council chamber to a national ministerial decision. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

If you ever see the phrase recovered appeal and wonder what it actually means, GOV.UK gives a fairly direct answer. Most planning appeals are decided by Planning Inspectors, but a recovered appeal is one where the Secretary of State takes the final decision instead, after receiving the Inspector’s report and recommendation. Recovery can happen at any stage, even after a hearing or inquiry. (gov.uk) In the Snarlton Farm case, the Inspector’s report says the appeal was recovered because it involved residential development of more than 150 units or a site of more than five hectares, with the potential to affect the government’s housing supply objective. **What this means:** the local argument was still heard in full, but the final signature came from central government rather than from the Inspector alone. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

This is also a useful case study in outline planning permission. GOV.UK says outline permission settles the general principles of how a site can be developed, while reserved matters leave later applications to sort out the missing detail. Those reserved matters can include access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale. (gov.uk) Here, access was only partly left for later. The permission fixes two pedestrian and vehicle access points from Eastern Way, but leaves scale, layout, appearance and landscaping to future reserved matters applications. The conditions also make clear that internal estate roads, housing mix, sustainable energy details and other design work still have to be approved, and that a phasing plan must come first. GOV.UK guidance also says reserved matters can be submitted together or separately, which helps explain why big sites like this often come forward in stages rather than all at once. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

Why was the appeal allowed when the site sat outside Melksham’s settlement boundary? The decision letter is quite open about that tension. The Secretary of State agreed the proposal conflicted with Wiltshire Core Strategy policies CP2 and CP15 and with Policy 6 of the Joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan 2, meaning the site was not in the right place under the adopted spatial strategy. But she also agreed those policies were out of date, so the harm from that conflict carried only limited weight. She gave no weight to the withdrawn emerging Wiltshire Local Plan, which the council pulled from examination on 22 May 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) What tipped the balance was housing need. The decision accepted that Wiltshire could show only a 2.16-year housing land supply, described the shortfall as very significant, and gave significant weight to both market housing and affordable housing. The minister also gave moderate weight to other benefits such as open space, play space, rights of way improvements, biodiversity net gain and drainage improvements. Against that sat moderate harm from the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land, thought to be roughly nine hectares, plus some localised visual and countryside harm. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The scheme itself is sizeable, but not all of the 19.2-hectare site is earmarked for housebuilding. The Inspector’s report says the proposal is for up to 300 dwellings, with 30% affordable housing, on a residential developable area of 8.68 hectares. It also points to about 8.76 hectares of open space, around 0.13 hectares for allotments and roughly 0.32 hectares for community use or a community building. In plain English, this is not just a red line for houses; it is a wider estate plan with green space, play areas and a community plot built into it. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The section 106 agreement is where many of the practical promises sit. The report says at least 30% of homes must be affordable, with 60% of those affordable homes for affordable rent, 15% for shared ownership and 25% as First Homes. It also secures contributions towards a bus service, a community building nearby, primary school or early years provision, extra medical centre floorspace, walking and cycling links, highway works, station accessibility, sports provision, public rights of way works, public art, travel plan measures and waste and recycling equipment. That is a good reminder that outline permission is not a blank cheque; it comes tied to legal duties. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

The next stage is where many residents will start paying closest attention. Under normal GOV.UK guidance, reserved matters applications are usually due within three years of outline permission, but this decision cuts that to two years. It also says development must begin within two years of the last reserved matters approval, because the Inspector and minister wanted the scheme to move quickly if permission was granted. (gov.uk) Several conditions show just how much is still left to settle. Future applications must deal with housing mix, sustainable energy, tree protection, archaeology, drainage, construction management, ecology, internal movement, walking and cycling links and speed restraint measures of 20mph or lower. The site for the community use or building must be delivered by the occupation of the 200th dwelling. **What this means for local readers:** the principle of up to 300 homes has now been approved, but the exact look, arrangement and street-level experience of the development will still be argued over in the reserved matters stage. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)