Welcome to the New Eastern Villages e-newsletter

The New Eastern Villages is one of the largest greenfield developments in the country, and we want to keep you updated as works progress.

This newsletter will drop into your inbox every month and will contain everything you need to know about the development and the accompanying roadworks.

New Eastern Villages: An introduction

The New Eastern Villages (NEV) development will consist of nine villages which comprise around 8,000 homes, new schools, employment spaces and community facilities. It will span 724 hectares, with its eastern boundary reaching the point at which the River Cole meets the A420.

Evidence related to the NEV has been in the pipeline for over 10 years and resulted in the allocation of the NEV for development in the Local Plan 2026, which was adopted in March 2015. It's our job to ensure it is brought forward in a coordinated and well-managed way.

You can find out more about why we are building this development in the Q&A section at the bottom of the newsletter.

In order for the development to go ahead, we need to ensure the roads and junctions around the A419 are improved.

These highways schemes are part of a transformational £72.5m programme of road improvement work which will be taking place over the course of the next few years. This will ensure that vital infrastructure is in place before the housing developments are complete.

Highways projects

White Hart Roundabout

Expected start date: Currently underway (off carriageway)

Expected end date: Spring 2021

This key project will involve the construction of a new northbound on-slip road from the roundabout onto the A419, replacing the existing unconventional and below-standard slip road.

The southbound slip road from the A419 onto the roundabout will be widened, the roundabout will be signalised, the existing entry onto Ermin Street will be closed and replaced by a new priority junction on Oxford Road and the number of lanes circling the roundabout will increase.

These changes will create extra capacity on the roundabout that will help to reduce queuing traffic that backs onto the A419 at peak times.

Initial ground clearance work has already begun and work on the road is due to start in Spring 2020.

Gablecross Roundabout

Expected start date: Late spring/early summer 2020

Expected end date: Spring 2021

In its current form, the junction is not big enough to accommodate the expected increase in traffic levels. Plans are in place to make the junction larger and to add traffic lights. Modelling tests have shown that this will provide sufficient capacity to accommodate more vehicles.

Nythe Road/Oxford Road junction

Expected start date: Late spring/early summer 2020

Expected end date: Spring 2021

At the Nythe Road junction, Oxford Road will be widened to two lanes in each direction. This will increase capacity and reduce traffic queuing by half at peak times in the morning. This will also improve air quality for local residents.

The pedestrian crossing will be upgraded to make it more user friendly for pedestrians and cyclists and the drainage system around the junction will be adapted to prevent pooling.

Smart traffic lights will also be introduced that will change according to traffic flow. 

We have consulted with local residents on this scheme and we have accommodated their wishes as much as we possibly can.

Piccadilly Roundabout

Expected start date: Late spring/early summer 2020

Expected end date: Spring 2021

These proposals are designed to improve capacity at Piccadilly roundabout, on Dorcan Way.

Alterations will be made to the existing roundabout including a larger central island, wider roads on the approaches and improved road markings.

Controlled crossings that are more user friendly for pedestrians and cyclists will be installed and upgrades will be made to drainage facilities.

The existing bus stops on the roundabout and immediate approach will be moved to Dorcan Way.

Planning updates

Development: Redlands (NEV)

Details: 370 homes, a convenience store/community facility, a primary school and associated facilities with access points to and from Wanborough Road and the site's northern and eastern site boundaries

Current position: Outline planning permission has been granted and we are awaiting the submission of the reserved matters application

Development: Symmetry Park 

Details: 40 hectares of employment land

Current position: Outline planning permission was granted in June 2015 with subsequent reserved matters granted in 2016 and 2019. Unit 1 is complete and occupied by Iceland

Development: Former South Marston Hotel site 

Details: The demolition of the existing hotel building and the redevelopment to provide 70 homes including open space and links to South Marston

Current position: Planning permission has been granted and the development is under construction

Development: North of A420 (South Marston expansion and Rowborough) 

Details: 2,380 homes, community centres, sports facilities, retail and employment offers, primary schools, play areas, allotments and open spaces, and associated infrastructure

There will be new and improved access points to the A420 including at Old Vicarage Lane and Thornhill Road

Current position: Outline planning permission will soon be granted, subject to Section 106 legal agreement 

Development: Lotmead Farm (Lotmead and Lower Lotmead villages)

Details: 2,500 homes with community centres, sports facilities, retail and employment offers, primary schools, play areas, allotments and open spaces, and associated infrastructure

There will be new and improved access points to the A420 and Wanborough Road

Current position: Planning application is currently under consideration

Development: Great Stall East

Details: 1,550 homes, a new secondary school, primary school, park and ride, community centre, sports facilities, retail and employment offers, play areas, allotments and open spaces, and associated infrastructure

Current position: Planning application is currently under consideration

What's recently happened?

White Hart

On Christmas Eve, we took possession of a 1km section of the Great Western main line that runs through the White Hart area between Honda and Ermin Street bridge.

This was to allow new gantries to be erected that will mean new overhead cables can be installed. These are needed to enable the construction of the new northbound entry slip road onto the A419 over the railway bridge.

On Christmas Eve, work began on the line and finished on Boxing Day. Overhead cables and supporting steel structures were relocated to allow for the new bridge to be installed later this year. Safety surveys were carried out before handing back to Network Rail on Boxing Day ahead of schedule.

Public Q&A

We expect you have a lot of questions about the NEV. If you submit them via the link below, we will answer three in the next issue.

In the meantime, here are the answers to three questions we have previously been asked:

Q: How much money are these highways schemes going to cost?

A: Collectively, the highways schemes at the White Hart Roundabout, Southern Connector Road, Gablecross Junction, Nythe Road junction and Piccadilly Roundabout are expected to cost £72.5m, for which budgetary approval has already been approved.

To support this, a grant of £47.63m from the Government’s Local Growth Fund, delivered via the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, is available.

A £19m grant from the Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) has been allocated for the Southern Connector Road.

It is important to note that Swindon council taxpayers will not have to contribute anything towards the project.

Q: Why do the road improvements have to take place at the same time?

A: Due to funding restrictions, the money needs to be spent by March 2021, which means some of the schemes will have to run simultaneously. 

However, this has the benefit of ensuring that the works will all be completed at a similar time and we will have coordinated traffic management in place.

Q: Why do you have to build these homes?

A: House-building targets set by central government have to be met.

This development will go a long way to hitting those targets and will have the added benefits of providing a sustainable new community with better housing that improves our economy and infrastructure.

If you have any other queries or if there is anything else relating to the NEV that we can help with, don't hesitate to get in touch.

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Swindon Borough Council, Civic Offices, Euclid Street, Swindon, SN1 2JH