DEVIZES: The UK’s first homes to meet an ultra-efficient energy standard may be built near Devizes.

The two houses planned for Seend Road around one mile west of Worton will be designed to meet the Passivhaus Premium standard.

This standard means the homes will produce far more clean energy than is required to operate the building itself, and additionally will feed clean energy back to the community.

According to the plans there are only 21 houses globally which have been certified to meet this standard.

The application says “unsightly” out-buildings on the site including a kennel and cattery will be demolished to make way for the homes.

There will be solar panels attached to the house, very small wind turbines, triple glazed windows and a lot of insulation.

The plans say: “The homes will achieve such low u-values [which measures how quickly heat leaks out of a structure] that sufficient heating from the use of appliances, ovens, TVs and indeed body heat will cover the heating requirement of the homes.

“Only a small top-up may be required during prolonged periods when conditions are both sub-zero and overcast, meaning no solar gains.”

DEVIZES: A bungalow in Devizes may be demolished and replaced with four new houses.

The plan is for the Isis bungalow at London Road to be replaced with one two storey house three storey terraced houses as well as a recycling storage outbuilding.

One of the neighbours has already submitted a comment on the application in objection to the plans.

The neighbour says the plans will result in a loss of residential amenity and privacy and the size of the development is inappropriate.

There was a previous application for the development of the site, for a new apartment building with nine flats but this was rejected by the council and the government planning inspector on appeal.

The inspector said it would have an effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area and an impact on the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers.

The new application argues that by changing the scheme from a large apartment building to a row of four town houses these concerns have been addressed and the development will be attractive.

CRICKLADE:  An application has been submitted to allow permanent occupancy of buildings which were originally planned to be used only as a holiday homes in Cricklade.

The Dairy and Parlour is a building split into two holiday homes on the former farm, Hornbeam Grange.

The plans say: “Despite operating the two holiday units as approved, and having created two extremely attractive properties, extensive marketing for well in excess of 24 months has realised no interest in the purchase of such a business.

“Accordingly, it is the purpose of the enclosed application to remove the holiday let restriction, allowing the two properties to be sold as single open market dwellings, independent from one another.”

WEST CHISENBURY: A project to restore a degraded stretch of the Hampshire Avon river at West Chisenbury, near Pewsey, has been submitted.

The aim is to remove pollutants from the river and make it more habitable for things like wild brown trout, aquatic plants and wetland birds.

The plans say pollution from agriculture and the water industry are the main ailments of the river.

It says: “The project will also a section of over-deep, historically dredged and modified river channel into a complex naturalised, braided set of channels, riffles and pools, indicative of the state of the river before historic human intervention.”