Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, UK

Site Information

Our latest strategic land investment site is located on the north western edge of the town of Bradford on Avon, a key Market Town within Wiltshire District Council. On successful allocation of the site for residential use, it is projected that investors will enjoy a close to 400% return over a 4 - 5 year period. This equates to an approximately 23% annualised return.

The site is located adjacent to the north western boundary of Bradford on Avon and is approximately 8 acres in size of which 49% will be retained for company benefit and 51% made available for investment. Bradford on Avon is a large Market Town with a range of key services and employment making it suitable for housing growth. The site is currently a block of gently sloping grazing land that has been previously utilised for equestrian use. There are two main access points off Bath Road to the east of the site.

Our Planning Department Comments

• The town of Bradford on Avon falls under the BOA Development Area as guided by the Wiltshire District Councils Local Development Plan. The current BOA Neighbourhood Plan (NP) has identified sufficient sites to the north east of Bradford on Avon to deliver 33 shared ownership dwellings. This NP plan has already undergone Examination and a final decision is expected soon. However, affordability is a key issue identified for the BOA developmental area and resulting housing strategies going forward will need to focus on delivering affordable schemes either as components of market housing or on a 100% affordable development basis. It has further been established through a number of recent planning applications in the area, that Wiltshire District Council does not have a 5 year land supply in place for the North West Housing Market Area in which the sites falls.This means additional housing will need to be identified, if not in the current NP, then in the future Local Plan review.
• Given the current status of WDC Local Plan and the imminent approval of the BOA NP, this represents an excellent opportunity for securing planning allocation in the medium term. We will be strategically promoting the site through the next Local Plan review for residential development within the next 4 - 5 years.

Latest Planning Update

Wiltshire's Local Plan continues to undergo review due to the Council being unable to demonstrate that it can deliver a 5 year housing supply, a position that was further confirmed at appeal in October 2023. It is expected that this position will further worsen once Labour's new targets are implented through the Planning and Infrastracture Bill.

Bradford on Avon Town Council are currently reviewing their Neighbourhood Plan alongside Wiltshire. Our site was submitted to the Neighbourhood Plan Call for Sites in December 2023. The Plan Steering Group are currently reviewing all sites submitted and we are awaiting a timescale for completion of these consultations. Again, we anticipate that this will be affected positively by the Planning and Infrastracture Bill once enacted.