Calne - Modern Calne

Modern Calne

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Calne was considered one of the fastest-expanding towns in the South West England region, with a population projected to peak at around 16,000 by 2012. The Lansdowne Park housing development (completed in late 2008) has substantially increased the physical scale of the town, creating an entirely new northwestern suburb, including a new primary school, a medical centre and a small shopping area. This area in particular has attracted professional workers from traditionally more expensive areas such as Bath, Bristol, Marlborough and as far afield as the 'silicon valley' towns of central Berkshire. Lansdowne Park's name reflects the development's proximity to the seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne, whose family have resided at the nearby Bowood House country estate since 1784.

Aside from the final completion of Lansdowne Park, there are pockets of new housing, but on a far smaller scale. In October 2007, the go-ahead was given for the creation of a major new £1m Football Foundation outdoor facility at Beversbrook on Calne's northern edge, which was officially opened in April 2009.

The draft South West Regional Spatial Strategy, published in 2008, recommended the building of 13,700 additional dwellings within the District of North Wiltshire during the period 2006 – 2026. Of these, some are designated for Calne. In a survey conducted for the 'Calne Connection' in early 2010, some 90% of respondents agreed that the town should remain as a market town rather than expand significantly beyond 20,000 inhabitants.

Calne has its own festival, the Calne Music & Arts Festival that has been running for 37 years.