WILTSHIRE Council has been accused of striking a “backroom deal” with developers to turn Salisbury’s derelict former bus station into retirement homes.

Churchill Retirement Living’s (CRL) plan to build 47 one and two-bedroom apartments on the Endless Street site was rejected by planning officers over possible noise levels from two former nightclubs.

The report said the bus station site, which closed in January 2014, was “surrounded by noise sources including busy roads, a currently vacant night club, a pub where live music regularly takes place (Danny’s Craft Bar), a social club, Royal British Legion Club, McDonald’s and Papa John’s”.

Officers said some noise issues could be overcome, but there was nothing to stop someone opening the late-night venues again.

Yet just weeks before a planning appeal at the City Hall, CRL said it had reached an agreement with the council.

The firm has bought number 4a and 4b Endless Street, formerly The Warehouse nightclub, and struck a legal deal with the owners of number 6, formerly N&N Bar, stopping the venue ever reopening.

CRL said neither premises was viable as a late-night venue.

A separate application to turn 6 Endless Street into a café has been lodged.

Salisbury City Council objected to the retirement homes plans on the grounds they were “bland and boring” and “failed to comply with the Salisbury Vision’s original view that this site should have a degree of mixed development”.

Salisbury Civic Society also objected to the plans, criticising the design.

But now the bus station application has reached the appeal stage, it is too late for elected councillors to debate it in public.

Describing it as a “backroom deal”, councillor Helena McKeown said if the application had been approved, she would have definitely have called it before the committee.

She said: “Like most Salisbury residents, my whole problem with this is that we need our bus station back.

“As usual, Wiltshire Council, run from Trowbridge, with a predominantly north Wiltshire focus, is ignoring the city.

“Residents are queuing up, missing buses, and tourists don’t have a functioning public transport system which is easy to access.

“There is no doubt that this is something people wanted to have a say on.”

CLR planning director Andrew Burgess said the company had struck a deal with the council relating to the “one remaining objection” of noise from re-opening the nightclub.

He said: “Neither side are going to present evidence at the hearing and the council are agreed that development can take place without disturbance from nightclubs because we have control of 4 and 6 Endless Street to prevent them from becoming nightclubs if planning permission is granted.

“At the hearing (on Tuesday, October 13) neither side will offer any evidence and explain to the inspector that we have reached agreement.

"Hopefully the inspector will be able to grant planning permission.”