26th April 2015 - this coming week will see the first four residents move in to Rowan Lane apartments

Following a 'welcome' dinner party last Friday for a dozen new residents, the first four apartments in Rowan Lane will be occupied this coming week.

Further Rowan Lane courtyard apartments will become available for occupation over the course of the summer; a phased development will see the whole site occupied by end-2016.

It seems that residents will have any and every need catered for by the concierge team headed by Jose, the general manager. Following the ethos that Wadswick Green will be part of the local community, services, such as the spa, will also be available to non-residents at certain times. I look forward to wining and dining in a location where I played squash and football in a former life!

The photo is of the on-site 'show' apartment in Rowan Lane. Other photos follow:

3rd October 2014 - Royal Arthur transformation

The Wadswick Green development will, no doubt, be eminently suitable for some elderly people but it certainly comes at a price. Current apartment prices are circa £285k, £360k and £490k for 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments respectively and the prices are scheduled to rise in the near future. Apartment prices in the 'central' Pavilion are though somewhat lower, being at present, £205k and £245k for 1- and 2-bedroom units.

Add to this the weekly service and concierge charges of £46 to £89 (service) and £56 to £84 (concierge), a small, 2-bed apartment would set you back £144 per week (for example). So, even before utility costs, a resident will have to find about £7,500 per annum for these charges.

The apartments are 125-year leasehold so a ground rent of between £150 and £400 per annum is levied. And at the end of occupancy, residents (or their estate) are required to pay a 1% charge of the value of the property for each year of occupation (capped at 10%). So, for example, a couple having lived in a 3-bed apartment (with a value of around £500k) for 10 years would be required to pay £50k towards the maintenance of Wadswick Green for current and future residents.

As I said, it ain't cheap but Wadswick Green will have all the facilities, and more, that retirees may want. This, apparently, is what the future holds for our ageing population.

20th September 2014 - 'new' access to Wadswick Green (planning application 14/04012/FUL)

The developers of Wadswick Green have proposed a new, further entrance to the Wadswick Green development with the following raison d'etre given in the 17th September 'Report to the Area Planning Committee' ('link' below) : "It is understood that the primary reason for the creation of the second point of access is one of perception, with the applicant believing that the existing access via Westwells Road (being rather more defined in character by the surrounding business development) would not deliver the desired impression to residents and visitors to the Royal Arthur site as an exclusive residence".

Just as Rangeford (the developer) peculiarly hadn't appreciated that the principal, and originally only, entrance to Wadswick Green was in the increasingly industrialised landscape of west Corsham/Hawthorn/Westwells, I hadn't appreciated that prospective residents were to be screened for 'exclusiveness' - a 'No riffraff' sign is expected soon.

I fully agree with the Council Landscape Officer's assessment that: "the proposal represents non-essential development; loss of agricultural land; loss of existing trees and woodland; development resulting in unnecessary harmful effects to the local rural character of the countryside from new, urbanising road infrastructure ...  It is clear from the Council's landscape character assessments that only essential development, which is sensitively located, should be supported in this rural character area. I do not see how the benefit of the proposed development could be balanced to outweigh the resulting harm it is likely to generate". I have walked and enjoyed this rural byway for forty years (the photo above was taken towards the end of the last century) and fully agree with his assessment.

The Planning Officer's report states that the expected traffic load will be "light". For a whole village, its residents and visitors? The planned six passing places in this half-mile route indicate otherwise. And for me, the entrance/exit onto the B3109, whilst used at present for Wadswick Country Store traffic, is problematic. Drivers use this stretch as a racetrack - on my walks, I regularly see vehicles doing 80mph or more along here.

Notwithstanding all of the above, the Planning Officer has approved this second access road. However, his report contains inaccuracies - he says: "It is understood that a felling licence has already been gained and a break in Hunt's Wood has been created, it being wide enough to accommodate the planned new access track" and "The necessary break in the semi-mature Hunt's Wood has already been created thereby minimising impact from the development".

The above information is incorrect - the last photo, below, shows the point of entry of the new road into Hunt's Wood. There are a substantial number of trees here, most planted about twenty years ago (with subsidy no doubt) but there are also mature trees and, at the Wadswick Green end, some ancient hazel and elm (and perhaps other) coppice.

Further photos below give a feel for the rural nature of the byway.

Wadswick Green 'village' showhome opened 25th April 2014

A champagne reception in a marquee close to Wadswick Country Store marked the official opening of the Wadswick Green project. The project's great and the good were there along with MP James Gray who cut the ribbon for the project and the showhome (adjacent to the marquee).

The illustrative map in the gallery below provides an impression of the layout of the 25-acre site. There will be, apparently, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom 'Courtyard' apartments and 1- and 2-bedroom 'Pavilion' (in the main village building along with village services) apartments.

The full village brochure is here: