Every now and again I hear people say, “There’s no point objecting, they’ll build it anyway”, or “It’s not worth the battle” or “Money talks”. It annoys me, quite frankly. I’ve never been afraid to have a scrap and nothing gets me riled-up as much as someone who throws their weight around like they own the place. This month it was Aster’s turn.
You might remember that Aster chose a Covid lockdown to tell vulnerable West Lavington residents living in Hedges House that they would lose their homes and would need to find somewhere else to live. I visited those poor souls a few times in the months that followed, and I was struck by both their determination to expose their appalling treatment, and their desire to make sure future residents were protected.
At the Eastern Area Planning Committee in September, Wiltshire Councillors voted unanimously to throw-out Aster’s planning application for the Hedges House site. Emotions ran high at the meeting. It was clear that Aster had refused to listen to scores of residents who had told them face-to-face that the community needed homes suitable for elderly residents. Aster ignored us and now their application is in the bin. Good.
However, that sadly won’t be the end of this sorry saga. I was quite clear when addressing the Committee; Aster should take their plans back to the drawing board and address the low ratio of bungalows to houses in their scheme so that it provides more for our elderly residents. Aster now has two options; they can follow the advice of the Committee and come up with a scheme that works for our community, or they can ignore public sentiment AGAIN and appeal to the Planning Inspectorate at significant cost to you and me.
I need your help! If you feel that Aster should be listening to all of us who have stood in opposition to their plans – Hedges House tenants, the Planning Committee, the Parish Council, and many residents across the area – please add your voice to ours. Put some pressure on Aster to place our community’s needs ahead of their own profit making.
Please write to Aster and tell them straight…
“Do not ignore residents of The Lavingtons! Do not try to appeal the recent Hedges House planning decision! Amend your plans to build the type of social housing our community needs, rather than what might pay you a bigger bonus.”
Send your email to Josh Dear, Regional Head of Housing at Aster (josh.dear@aster.co.uk) and Bjorn Howard, Group CEO (bjorn.howard@aster.co.uk) and feel free to copy me in too, just for the Hell of it.
You may contact me about this or any other matter by email to dominic.muns@wiltshire.gov.uk or by phone on 07585 394 178.
