MORE than 30 town and parish councils - including Downton and Laverstock - have joined together to appeal for help in protecting the future of neighbourhood planning . The councils have formed the Wiltshire Area Localism and Planning Group (WALPA), and represent more than 200,000 residents across the county. They say urgent action is needed, with Wiltshire s town and parish councils suffering because of significant loopholes in planning legislation . They add that carefully drafted neighbourhood plans - reflecting the views of local communities - can be overruled, unless Wiltshire Council is consistently able to maintain five years’ worth of available housing land. At the moment, they say, Wiltshire does not have that critical five–year supply, which means that developers are challenging Neighbourhood Plans as soon as they are two years old.