Local information from Wanborough Parish Council.
Charitable or non-commercial groups in the
Wanborough area can promote their organisation and events
through this site. Simply send details to info@wanborough.info
Eastern Development Area
Wanborough Parish Council is using this page to keep you up to date with news on the Eastern Development Area.
Newsletters about Eastern Villages from SBC
Planning Inspectorate's decision on the Lotmead Planning Application
Appeal 1 Letter and Documentation
Appeal 2 Letter and Documentation
Costs Report
Final Costs Letter
Here is the key information displayed at the New Eastern Villages (NEV) Transport Scheme Event, 5th March at Hooper's Field
Two new maps that are important for residents in Wanborough to see:
White Hart Roundabout & Great Stall Bridge Proposal
All queries and comments must be sent directly to SBC e-mail - NEV@swindon.gov.uk
NEV Transport Consultation
For residents who were unable to attend the "drop in" session run by SBC on 23rd Jan, please see a copies of the display boards from the presentation below for your information.
Unfortunately there was nothing new for the Southern Connector Road other than what we have all already seen at the recent presentation at Hooper's Field.
If you wish to raise any comments please e-mail SBC directly - NEV@swindon.gov.uk
1a. White Hart Diamond Interchange & Great Stall Bridge Proposal
1b. White Hart Roundabout & Great Stall Bridge Proposal
2. A420 & Gable Cross Roundabout Proposal
SBC's Southern Connector Road Presentation - 29th November 2017
For residents who were unable to attend the presentation at Hooper's Field, please see information below providing you will all the details and how to send in your comments if you wish to.
Presentation Document →
For the latest updates visit our Facebook Page Here...
July 2016
A Special Parish Council Public Planning Committee Meeting was held at Hooper's Field on August 3rd.
The minutes of the meeting are HERE...
The latest version of the NEV plan "New Eastern Villages Revised Draft Illustrative- Masterplan"(!) is available to Download HERE...
Please see the full "New Eastern Villages planning obligations draft supplementary planning document" page on the SBC website for more documentation and details on consultation.
April 2016
The New Eastern Villages (NEV) is the largest strategic allocation within the adopted Swindon Borough Local Plan 2026 (The Local Plan). It will comprise 8,000 new homes, 40 hectares employment, transport improvements, new secondary school and primary schools, retail, health, community and leisure facilities.
Following the adoption of the Local Plan in March 2015, it has become necessary to produce the New Eastern Villages Planning Obligations draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to provide more detailed advice and guidance on the relevant policies, particularly Policies IN1 (Infrastructure Provision), SD3 (Development Management), NC3 (New Eastern Villages) and RA3 (South Marston).
The draft SPD sets out Swindon Borough Council's approach to securing, by planning obligations, the infrastructure required as a consequence of developments in the NEV. The approach detailed, seeks to achieve the effective delivery of infrastructure to enable sustainable growth at the NEV to ensure the right infrastructure is delivered in the right place, at the right time.
What can I comment on?
Comments can be made on any part of the document including the accompanying Draft Village Proformas and Infrastructure Requirements, the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) as relates to the NEV, and the Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA). The draft SPD is available for public consultation for 6 weeks until Wednesday, 4 May 2016.
http://www.swindon.gov.uk/easternvillagesconsultation
The response form is at the bottom of the page above.
Relevant to Wanborough and worthy of comment is ensuring that all nearby developments contribute to 'measures to minimise rat running' via our villages (a Local Plan Policy) and that for Redlands the phasing is indicated as Phase 3 (ie. not before the necessary infrastructure is in place). Redlands is also shown at 40 dwellings per hectare which the Planning Officer we spoke to admitted was a mistake and should be corrected following our comments - at the edge of the New Eastern Villages housing densities are supposed to reduce.
Please take the time to comment - many of the problems with such developments is making sure schools and facilities are there when needed - please reinforce this regarding Redlands, Foxbridge and Lotmead as each will mean more traffic for our villages without intervention.
October 2013
Public Meeting held on Monday 6th October at Wanborough Village Hall regarding modifications to Swindon Borough Plan
Click on the image below to see the presentation made by the Parish Council at the meeting.
Presentation:
December 2013
Adver article about plans to develop at South Marston
Please note the developer's comment in this article and draw your own conclusions:
“The Local Plan is currently being examined by a planning inspector and one area that he will scrutinise will be the deliverability of schemes identified in the plan to meet the housing requirement for Swindon.”
And perhaps question why they feel the need to beat the inspector to it, by submitting a planning application for land which has not been formally approved for housing through any examined and adopted part of the planning process!
Deliverability is about money for roads, schools, water provision, flooding, sewage, buses - and so far it looks like the Borough has secured no significant funding for these items - not the right time to start allocating farmland for development. The Borough Council can't finish Wicheslstowe (the Borough own much of that site) because they have borrowed over £40m for infrastructure there and still can't sell the land.
Please comment on this application to Swindon Borough Council either online or email the Head of Planning if you feel strongly: Richard Bell RBell@swindon.gov.uk
November 2013
Update on the Swindon Borough Council ‘Local Plan' and the ‘Eastern Villages' Development - the plan is still a mess and may be UNSOUND!
Following the consultation earlier this year the Government's appointed ‘Planning Inspector' Mr Mike Fox called a meeting at ‘Steam' on the 13th November. This ‘Exploratory Meeting' was to answer a number of serious concerns he had about the ‘Soundness' of the plan and he wanted answers to give him some degree of confidence that it would not be found ‘Unsound' at the ‘Examination in Public'.
Swindon's planners gave explanations for some points but were still woefully lacking in detail about the enormous amount of funding required and in particular for the Eastern Villages development of 8,000 homes. Just the main road improvements external to the development in the East will cost close to £50m (NOT the £5M incorrectly reported in the printed edition of the Swindon Advertiser) and that does not include schools, district centres, flood mitigation or any other internal road or facility.
The barrister acting for Wanborough Parish Council made convincing comments in this respect and there were others made on water supply and flooding. The Inspector said that ‘Infrastructure' was his primary ‘Soundness' concern for the plan. At the time of writing he has given the council a week to respond and then the expectation is that there will be an ‘Examination in Public' (EiP) next March which will take some three weeks.
The main problem is that the Borough cannot afford to complete Wichelstowe (a 4,500 home site where they have already borrowed £45m to provide infrastructure and only the first 800 homes have been completed). In suggesting 8,000 homes in the East they have run into the same problem magnified – sometimes such a huge development area can be difficult to deliver.
The concern remains that if they don't get it right we will all suffer with traffic and blight of the countryside by piecemeal development from every ambitious developer. Again at the time of writing, the Outline Planning Application for the first 1500 homes at Rowborough, near South Marston has been submitted by developers (before the Local Plan has even been examined) – sadly this is the way this will continue to happen as Swindon doesn't have a convincing 5 year land supply which is a Government requirement.
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10806896.Worries_over_local_plan_for_Swindon/
Eastern Villages - Planning updates:
As a few residents have asked why the Parish Council withdrew from an 18-month collaboration with Swindon Borough Council I have attached our letter to the Planning Department giving our reasons. In short - it was due to a lack of faith in the ability of the planning department to reach any form of compromise to benefit the residents of Wanborough that their political masters would not countermand. Therefore a unanimous view was taken by the Parish Council that having achieved next to nothing in 18 months of 'consultation' we would engage the services of a leading planning barrister and face them on an equal playing field at the 'Examination in Public' of the LOCAL PLAN later this year (late October).
We did achieve the removal of a large industrial area just to the North of the Marsh which should please most (but not all) residents. This was relocated to the Sainsbury's area which is more sustainable. We also gave the planners a good understanding of our other concerns which include rat running and a total lack of funding for infrastructure plus an unspecified number of homes at Redlands. We also tried to explain that much more of the land where housing is proposed floods including large areas off Horpit and the Wanborough Road - but if their plans don't show it then its up to the developers to carry out an assessment.
Just in case anyone thinks this means a disadvantage to Wanborough - it doesn't. We are still in regular contact and as nearly half of the 8,000 home development takes place in our Parish they (SBC) are obliged to consult on all important matters. See Letter HERE...
Hopefully this explains our position.
Gary Sumner
Chairman
February 2013
Read the Wanborough Parish Council response to the Swindon Borough Local Plan - HERE...
Newsletters about Eastern Villages from SBC
Planning Inspectorate's decision on the Lotmead Planning Application
Appeal 1 Letter and Documentation
Appeal 2 Letter and Documentation
Costs Report
Final Costs Letter
Here is the key information displayed at the New Eastern Villages (NEV) Transport Scheme Event, 5th March at Hooper's Field
Two new maps that are important for residents in Wanborough to see:
- Southern Connector Road proposed junction on Wanborough Road
- Southern Connector Road proposed junction at Pack Hill / The Marsh
White Hart Roundabout & Great Stall Bridge Proposal
All queries and comments must be sent directly to SBC e-mail - NEV@swindon.gov.uk
NEV Transport Consultation
For residents who were unable to attend the "drop in" session run by SBC on 23rd Jan, please see a copies of the display boards from the presentation below for your information.
- White Hart Roundabout - two options which includes the Great Stall Bridge
- Gablecross (Sainsburys roundabout)
Unfortunately there was nothing new for the Southern Connector Road other than what we have all already seen at the recent presentation at Hooper's Field.
If you wish to raise any comments please e-mail SBC directly - NEV@swindon.gov.uk
1a. White Hart Diamond Interchange & Great Stall Bridge Proposal
1b. White Hart Roundabout & Great Stall Bridge Proposal
2. A420 & Gable Cross Roundabout Proposal
SBC's Southern Connector Road Presentation - 29th November 2017
For residents who were unable to attend the presentation at Hooper's Field, please see information below providing you will all the details and how to send in your comments if you wish to.
Presentation Document →
For the latest updates visit our Facebook Page Here...
July 2016
A Special Parish Council Public Planning Committee Meeting was held at Hooper's Field on August 3rd.
The minutes of the meeting are HERE...
The latest version of the NEV plan "New Eastern Villages Revised Draft Illustrative- Masterplan"(!) is available to Download HERE...
Please see the full "New Eastern Villages planning obligations draft supplementary planning document" page on the SBC website for more documentation and details on consultation.
April 2016
The New Eastern Villages (NEV) is the largest strategic allocation within the adopted Swindon Borough Local Plan 2026 (The Local Plan). It will comprise 8,000 new homes, 40 hectares employment, transport improvements, new secondary school and primary schools, retail, health, community and leisure facilities.
Following the adoption of the Local Plan in March 2015, it has become necessary to produce the New Eastern Villages Planning Obligations draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to provide more detailed advice and guidance on the relevant policies, particularly Policies IN1 (Infrastructure Provision), SD3 (Development Management), NC3 (New Eastern Villages) and RA3 (South Marston).
The draft SPD sets out Swindon Borough Council's approach to securing, by planning obligations, the infrastructure required as a consequence of developments in the NEV. The approach detailed, seeks to achieve the effective delivery of infrastructure to enable sustainable growth at the NEV to ensure the right infrastructure is delivered in the right place, at the right time.
What can I comment on?
Comments can be made on any part of the document including the accompanying Draft Village Proformas and Infrastructure Requirements, the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) as relates to the NEV, and the Diversity Impact Assessment (DIA). The draft SPD is available for public consultation for 6 weeks until Wednesday, 4 May 2016.
http://www.swindon.gov.uk/easternvillagesconsultation
The response form is at the bottom of the page above.
Relevant to Wanborough and worthy of comment is ensuring that all nearby developments contribute to 'measures to minimise rat running' via our villages (a Local Plan Policy) and that for Redlands the phasing is indicated as Phase 3 (ie. not before the necessary infrastructure is in place). Redlands is also shown at 40 dwellings per hectare which the Planning Officer we spoke to admitted was a mistake and should be corrected following our comments - at the edge of the New Eastern Villages housing densities are supposed to reduce.
Please take the time to comment - many of the problems with such developments is making sure schools and facilities are there when needed - please reinforce this regarding Redlands, Foxbridge and Lotmead as each will mean more traffic for our villages without intervention.
October 2013
Public Meeting held on Monday 6th October at Wanborough Village Hall regarding modifications to Swindon Borough Plan
Click on the image below to see the presentation made by the Parish Council at the meeting.
Presentation:
December 2013
Adver article about plans to develop at South Marston
Please note the developer's comment in this article and draw your own conclusions:
“The Local Plan is currently being examined by a planning inspector and one area that he will scrutinise will be the deliverability of schemes identified in the plan to meet the housing requirement for Swindon.”
And perhaps question why they feel the need to beat the inspector to it, by submitting a planning application for land which has not been formally approved for housing through any examined and adopted part of the planning process!
Deliverability is about money for roads, schools, water provision, flooding, sewage, buses - and so far it looks like the Borough has secured no significant funding for these items - not the right time to start allocating farmland for development. The Borough Council can't finish Wicheslstowe (the Borough own much of that site) because they have borrowed over £40m for infrastructure there and still can't sell the land.
Please comment on this application to Swindon Borough Council either online or email the Head of Planning if you feel strongly: Richard Bell RBell@swindon.gov.uk
November 2013
Update on the Swindon Borough Council ‘Local Plan' and the ‘Eastern Villages' Development - the plan is still a mess and may be UNSOUND!
Following the consultation earlier this year the Government's appointed ‘Planning Inspector' Mr Mike Fox called a meeting at ‘Steam' on the 13th November. This ‘Exploratory Meeting' was to answer a number of serious concerns he had about the ‘Soundness' of the plan and he wanted answers to give him some degree of confidence that it would not be found ‘Unsound' at the ‘Examination in Public'.
Swindon's planners gave explanations for some points but were still woefully lacking in detail about the enormous amount of funding required and in particular for the Eastern Villages development of 8,000 homes. Just the main road improvements external to the development in the East will cost close to £50m (NOT the £5M incorrectly reported in the printed edition of the Swindon Advertiser) and that does not include schools, district centres, flood mitigation or any other internal road or facility.
The barrister acting for Wanborough Parish Council made convincing comments in this respect and there were others made on water supply and flooding. The Inspector said that ‘Infrastructure' was his primary ‘Soundness' concern for the plan. At the time of writing he has given the council a week to respond and then the expectation is that there will be an ‘Examination in Public' (EiP) next March which will take some three weeks.
The main problem is that the Borough cannot afford to complete Wichelstowe (a 4,500 home site where they have already borrowed £45m to provide infrastructure and only the first 800 homes have been completed). In suggesting 8,000 homes in the East they have run into the same problem magnified – sometimes such a huge development area can be difficult to deliver.
The concern remains that if they don't get it right we will all suffer with traffic and blight of the countryside by piecemeal development from every ambitious developer. Again at the time of writing, the Outline Planning Application for the first 1500 homes at Rowborough, near South Marston has been submitted by developers (before the Local Plan has even been examined) – sadly this is the way this will continue to happen as Swindon doesn't have a convincing 5 year land supply which is a Government requirement.
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10806896.Worries_over_local_plan_for_Swindon/
Eastern Villages - Planning updates:
As a few residents have asked why the Parish Council withdrew from an 18-month collaboration with Swindon Borough Council I have attached our letter to the Planning Department giving our reasons. In short - it was due to a lack of faith in the ability of the planning department to reach any form of compromise to benefit the residents of Wanborough that their political masters would not countermand. Therefore a unanimous view was taken by the Parish Council that having achieved next to nothing in 18 months of 'consultation' we would engage the services of a leading planning barrister and face them on an equal playing field at the 'Examination in Public' of the LOCAL PLAN later this year (late October).
We did achieve the removal of a large industrial area just to the North of the Marsh which should please most (but not all) residents. This was relocated to the Sainsbury's area which is more sustainable. We also gave the planners a good understanding of our other concerns which include rat running and a total lack of funding for infrastructure plus an unspecified number of homes at Redlands. We also tried to explain that much more of the land where housing is proposed floods including large areas off Horpit and the Wanborough Road - but if their plans don't show it then its up to the developers to carry out an assessment.
Just in case anyone thinks this means a disadvantage to Wanborough - it doesn't. We are still in regular contact and as nearly half of the 8,000 home development takes place in our Parish they (SBC) are obliged to consult on all important matters. See Letter HERE...
Hopefully this explains our position.
Gary Sumner
Chairman
February 2013
Read the Wanborough Parish Council response to the Swindon Borough Local Plan - HERE...
