Homes and care home plan for vacant business park

Plans to build 250 houses and a 64-bed care home at a vacant site once earmarked for an Amazon warehouse have taken a step forward.

Hawke Ridge Business Park Limited (HPH) said it was preparing a planning application with Bellway Homes to transform 15-hectares of land to the north of Westbury in Wiltshire.

Planning permission for the land had previously been granted for commercial use for 14 years, but no suitable occupiers came forward.

Developers said they needed to "rethink the site's future in a way that better reflects local housing needs" and welcomed people's views to shape the latest planning application, which is due to be submitted in the coming weeks.

A spokesperson for Bellway Homes & HPH said: "We are committed to creating a sustainable, well‑connected neighbourhood that complements Westbury and provides lasting benefits for the community."

Previously, plans for the Hawke Ridge Business Park were unveiled in 2014. Wiltshire Council and business leaders said the £50m scheme would support 1,000 jobs over 46,451 sq m (500,000 sq ft) of employment space.

In 2021, Amazon applied for planning permission to build a distribution centre on a large part of the park, but the application was withdrawn in 2023.

Drive-through takeaway units mooted in 2024 then failed to materialise, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

On a website created by Bellway Homes & HPH, a section reads: "Although the land has been marketed for employment use for more than 14 years, no suitable commercial occupiers have come forward.

"With the previous application for an Amazon distribution centre withdrawn in 2023, we now have an opportunity to rethink the site's future in a way that better reflects local housing needs."

As well as the houses and care home, developers want to build several shops and one drive-through retail unit.

The 64‑bed care home will, say the developers, meet growing demand for high‑quality care and respite accommodation in the area.

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