A POTENTIAL new development in Cirencester cannot be called a 'legacy' unless it adds value to the 'wider community', according to the town council (CTC).

Speaking at a recent public consultation, CTC chief executive Andrew Tubb said the current plans, submitted at the end of last year by Bathurst Development Ltd, and which include up to 2,350 new homes in Chesterton, must add "value for the wider community" and not simply those who will live at the new site.

Lord Bathurst has previously referred to the scheme as his 'legacy' to the town but Mr Tubb said: "There needs to be something extra that comes forward."

He said: "The legacy that’s been listed at the moment, the things like schools, leisure facilities, new health facilities; those facilities are meeting the needs of this new community that’s being established, they’re not providing facilities for the wider community.

"So you cannot call that a legacy and we don’t consider that added value for the wider community.

"There needs to be something extra that comes forward, either through affordable housing and a reduction in the market value."

There has been fierce opposition to the scheme, with protest group Save Our Cirencester (SOC) gathering 3,000 signatures on a petition against the development and insisting that increasing the town's amount of homes by almost a quarter is far too many and local roads and infrastructure will not cope.

In February, Mr Tubb said the town council established a joint corporate group, made up of lead members of CTC and the planning committee, chaired by Cllr Nigel Robbins, committed to addressing the "major concerns that we had or were aware of from members of the public" following the submission of the application in September.

He said: "The group has been looking at five main issues, and they have been around the high pressure gas main, safety issues with sewage infrastructure, effects on parking across the town, parking on the site itself, green infrastructure, and highway network capacity."

Mr Tubb said it's "highly unlikely that the application will be determined [by the CDC planning committee] this side of Christmas.

"During that time frame we will be negotiating with the applicant an agreement in principle for developer funding contributions to the range of projects and we would want to see added value."

Following meetings with SOC in November, CTC agreed to commission a range of independent reports from the planning consultancy Pegasus to address the concerns of the group.

Mr Tubb said CTC consultant Andrea Pellegram has helped in the development of the planning policy and "out of that we now have a draft design code; something we are currently consulting on," to work in line with CDC's Local Plan which provides a strategy for delivering growth up to 2031.

Speaking at the consultation, Ms Pellegram said: "There's a lot to be welcomed in the [latest draft of the Local] Plan.

"Generally, vision and objectives support the town council's approach, the town centre policies are generally very well aligned with the approach to the planning policy statement and design code, and that's really important because hopefully these documents will be converted into a Neighbourhood Plan.

"Then all of our local details and concerns will have to be taken into account in any planning applications."

She said: "Cirencester will have development around it, because it is a sustainable location around here. Swindon is taking huge slugs in housing development, every place is, we're not alone. It's about controlling that development."

Andrew Tubb added: "We will be better off with a strategic site [the Chesterton development], and then protecting the rest of the town through a very strong Neighbourhood Plan that has to be met."