Bath Road, Chippenham

Proposals for the redevelopment of the former Islington Vauxhall garage on Bath Road, Chippenham SN14 0UX were submitted to Wiltshire Council in April 2024 (reference number PL/2024/02731) following local community consultation.

This consultation website was launched on behalf of the new owners of the property, Cinch Self Storage, a highly rated specialist operator of self-storage facilities already operating in Chippenham. The aim was to help local residents, neighbours and other interest groups find out more about the emerging plans and provide their feedback.

Since the submission of the planning application and the responses to it, Cinch has been looking at a revised approach. Below, we provide information on the existing state of the site and the current live planning application as well as details on how you can find out more about the proposed changes to the application and give your feedback.

All feedback on the proposed changes will be reviewed before they are finalised and we are setting up a new public drop-in session at the site as well as a live presentation (webinar). We will also provide more information on this website about the intended changes to the current live application after the drop-in session.

Existing condition

Located on Bath Road just to the east of the Methuen Park roundabout, the site was previously a car dealership operated by Islington Vauxhall. A range of new and used vehicles were sold while servicing, MOTs, and parts for all makes and models were offered to customers in dedicated workshop areas.

The broadly rectangular self-contained 1.25 acres site is bounded by Bath Road to the south, Kelso Court to the north, Hereford Close to the north east and Ascot Close to the east.

Largely flat, the existing site comprises a two-storey purpose built car showroom with ancillary workshop areas. The showroom has a curved glazed form and large canopy, whilst the workshop areas are contained within a steel framed clad building with a curved roof.

Given its previous use, the site attracted both vehicular trips by customers and employees and also large car transporters. An extensive area of hardstanding was provided to allow for the external parking of cars for sale along with spaces for customers and employees. A barrier was in place at the bottom of Hereford Close to control access, and a fence with lockable gate secured the yard to the rear of the showroom.

Since closure, the building at the site has been internally stripped of all its fixtures and fittings. Following acquisition by Cinch in August 2023 a boundary fence has been erected to improve security whilst the future of the site is decided.

The site is prominent and highly visible from the Bath Road and is a short distance from the Bath Road Retail Park to the south west and the Sainsburys superstore to the west.

Although the frontage of the site with its two metre embankment offers open views from the Bath Road, there are significant belts of trees and vegetation which conceal the site to the west along Sandown Drive and to the east along the boundaries of the properties located in Ascot Drive. The immediate boundary with the properties in Kelso Court/Hereford Close comprises close boarded fencing.

The single access to the site is via Hereford Close which in turn is reached via Newbury Drive. In 2022, a proposed new vehicular access from the Bath Road was approved by Wiltshire Council which remains valid and could be implemented. This allows for a one-way inbound access only from the Bath Road and therefore requires the retention of the access from Hereford Close.

Key features of the submitted planning application (April 2024)

The proposed approach for the site in the live planning application is to demolish the existing building at the site and replace it with a modern and attractive purpose-built self-storage facility comprising 4,813 sq. m (Gross Internal Area).

Aligned with the Bath Road southern boundary of the site, the proposed new building will be three storeys (approximately 9.63 metres high to the roof ridge) and is located in a similar position to the existing building, although it is extended further east towards the entrance at the bottom of Hereford Close.

As a result of local community consultation on the draft proposals, the western edge of the proposed new building was drawn back some 10.75m, and does not extend as far as the existing building. This created a visual gap on this western edge of the site.

The proposed new building was moved 3.35m to the east to accommodate this, and the separation distance with the nearest properties in Ascot Court is 27 metres.

The northern elevation of the proposed building was maintained as shown at the pre-application consultation with a minimum separation distance of 21 metres from the nearest property in Kelso Court (some 4.8 metres closer than the existing building).

The proposed footprint of the building takes advantage of the incline of the site which falls to a lower level towards Bath Road. This means that in the current application, the proposed building's ridge height will be broadly consistent with the ridge height of the nearest residential properties.

The low profile pitched roof in the planning application scheme was designed to be consistent with the neighbouring roof patterns. Overlooking of properties is not an issue as there will be no windows on the northern flank of the building which faces Kelso Court.

Access and traffic

The existing vehicular access from Hereford Close is retained. 18 parking spaces (including spaces for people with disabilities and six larger van spaces) along with four bicycle spaces are provided along the northern and western sides of the building.

Self-Storage facilities are lightly trafficked as goods and materials tend to be stored on site for extended periods of time. Based on similar sized Cinch facilities elsewhere the facility is expected to generate a total of 35 vehicle movements per day, with those movements spread relatively evenly throughout the day and activity lower during the morning and evening peak hours.

As such, the level of vehicle trips to and from the site would be low and not of a level that would affect the operation of the local road network. It would also mean minimal levels of noise and disturbance for neighbours resulting from visiting vehicles.

Importantly, the number of vehicle movements would be less than the previous car showroom use and significantly less than what would be experienced by alternative uses such as shops or restaurants.

The reception and loading bay are located across from the parking on the northern boundary and set back into the building to increase the distance even further to the residential properties at Kelso Court.

A canopy and blue coloured panels highlight the entrance to the storage facility. Two goods lifts serving all floors are accessed either via the Reception or the loading bay area on the northern side of the proposed building. The loading bay will be shuttered.

Cinch applies a high level of professional management to its sites and staff will be on-site during normal office hours. Security will be assured through CCTV monitoring.

Materials

The proposed building will have a metal façade which helps create a dynamic elevation. There are multiple options available for coatings, colours, finishes (matt or reflective). Proposing metal, specifically aluminium, provides an opportunity to utilise a material which is durable and highly sustainable i.e. 100% recyclable and can be reused without any loss of its natural qualities.

The building is visually split into two halves (an upper and lower half), separated by a shadow gap, creating an element of depth within the facade. The eastern, western and southern façades feature grey and blue panels. By using the lighter colour along the top it allows the façade to blend in with the sky.

The northern elevation features two tones of grey, further toning down the appearance of the building and picking up on the proportions of the houses to the north. Only the inset entrance and loading bay are highlighted in blue to indicate the location of the reception.

Landscaping and operation

The landscape proposals have been designed to enhance the existing mature vegetation around the site to preserve its enclosure and increase the biodiversity value.

New landscape buffers will be planted along the northern boundary to filter views from residential properties at Kelso Court, and along the Bath Road to increase the existing screening. Additional trees will be planted within the site to add further filtering of views to properties along Kelso Court and also Hereford Close.

The building will be designed with energy efficiency in mind ensuring that it has a low carbon footprint achieving a ’very good’ sustainability rating.

Modern self-storage facilities meet the needs of both local residents and small businesses. Although the split varies from site to site, customers tend to be broadly 60% domestic and 40% commercial users. Small businesses in particular value self-storage as it offers a cost effective and easy way to hold stock or supplies. The storing of dangerous or hazardous substances is prohibited.

If you want to get a feel for what happens at a typical Cinch site, you can read more here. Cinch is highly valued by their customers and enjoys a 5 star rating on Trustpilot.