The New Eastern Villages (NEV) is one of the largest greenfield developments in the country, and we want to keep you updated as work progresses.

As a subscriber, this newsletter will drop into your inbox every month and will contain everything you need to know about the development and the accompanying roadworks. An option to unsubscribe from receiving future editions is available at the foot of every newsletter.

There are 14 people in our dedicated New Eastern Villages team. They have been working on this project for a number of years and are experts in their respective fields.

In each newsletter edition we will introduce you to one of them.

Work at White Hart junction progressing well 

Since 22 June, White Hart junction has been reduced to a single lane on weekdays to allow Osborne, our contractor, to get on site and install ducting and drainage systems to facilitate the scheme. 

This work has been progressing well and the team have been able to start the overnight work on the A419 southbound off-slip earlier than planned. 

Night works on White Hart roundabout and the A419 southbound slip road started last Monday (13 July) for a period of two weeks. Some of the work that Osborne needs to complete during the night will be noisy, and we apologise for any inconvenience this work causes. Unfortunately there is no other way this work can be undertaken without considerable safety implications to our workforce and traffic using the junction, or without the need to close large proportions of the roundabout for long periods of time. Thank you for your patience while this work progresses. If you have any questions, you can send them through to whitehart.junction@osborne.co.uk or wwhj@swindon.gov.uk.

The below photos show some of the prep work at the railway (left) and for the new northbound on-slip (right). 

Work at the Oxford Road / Ermin Street junction 

This week saw the start of work at the Oxford Road / Ermin Street junction. Osborne, our contractor, has temporarily moved the bus stop on the Ermin Street side of the road and the pedestrian crossing. The bus stop has been positioned slightly further up Oxford Road to enable access to and outside properties. 

Your new pedestrian push button crossing, along with temporary traffic lights, is situated a few metres up from its current position. Pedestrian access will still be possible from Oxford Road to Ermin Street, but we would ask that cyclists dismount as the space will be restricted.

Temporary traffic lights at Oxford Road 

Our contractor is busy making the new junction and road from Oxford Road to Ermin Street.

To do this work safely and efficiently, temporary traffic lights will need to be placed near to the allotments. The lights will be installed next week (w/c 27 July) for a period of six weeks. It is likely that the configuration of the traffic lights will change to make sure we keep traffic moving effectively. 

Unfortunately, this work requires the breaking of the current road surface which will be noisy, but barriers will be erected to absorb some of the noise.

We’re keen to get your thoughts on plans to install traffic calming measures in Wanborough.

As part of the NEV, a comprehensive access strategy has been developed to ensure that the surrounding area does not suffer from the effects of additional traffic. The Southern Connector Road is one of these measures and Section 106 funding contributions to mitigate the effect of those developments will be used to install traffic calming measures within the village of Wanborough itself. 

These are just some of the things we are proposing to do on the High Street:

🚗 Realign the mini roundabout to reduce speed
🚗 Create additional pedestrian crossings
🚗 Narrow the road in various places
🚗 Install priority buildouts, requiring drivers to give way to oncoming vehicles

An online consultation is now live on our website for you to find out more and give us your views before the consultation closes on 17 August. 

Junction 15 of the M4 is operating near capacity and the developments planned in the vicinity of the junction, including the NEV, will generate additional traffic flow. Therefore, improvements are planned to this junction and preparatory work for the scheme has already started off the road. You can find out more about what's planned on our website.