New protest at Solstice 2 presentation

The developers hoping to roughly double the size of the Solstice Industrial Park were greeted with protests at their presentation yesterday. As the good-natured protesters waved their placards on the road outside the Amesbury Baptist Centre on Butterfield Drive, many motorists beeped their support.

Inside the presentation, the mood among residents was generally negative towards the protests and many difficult questions were asked of the representatives of the landowners, developers and Solstice Park management.

As one Amesbury resident, Ben Eveling, said, "The infrastructure in Amesbury can't cope with the existing recent development. On top of the lack of schools, doctors, dentists and chemists, according to the Crime Rate web site, Amesbury is the third most dangerous small town in Wiltshire and the 35th most dangerous of all the cities, towns and villages in Wiltshire. The community is clearly struggling to absorb all the incomers, which has pushed up crime."

There were many other questions asked, particularly about the increased traffic, light pollution and the loss of farm land at a time when food security concerns are paramount.