Swindon Borough Council has launched a special e-newsletter to keep residents fully up to date with one of the largest greenfield developments in the country.
The New Eastern Villages (NEV) will consist of 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.
In order for the development to go ahead, the Council has prioritised the need to ensure the roads and junctions around the A419 are upgraded to manage the anticipated increase in traffic that the NEV will bring.
As a result, a £72.5m programme of road improvement works will be taking place over the course of the next few years to ensure vital infrastructure is in place before new houses are built east of the A419.
The newsletter, which will land in recipients’ inboxes every month, will feature updates on the key highways schemes as they progress. These are: White Hart roundabout, Gablecross roundabout, Nythe Road junction, Piccadilly roundabout (by The Messenger pub) and the Southern Connector Road (a new road which will link the NEV with Commonhead roundabout).
There will also be key planning updates that relate to the wider NEV development and residents will have the chance to submit questions which will then be answered in the following edition.
Initial ground clearance work has already started at White Hart. Over the Christmas period, the Council took possession of a 1km section of the Great Western main line to modify the overhead electrification cables and supporting steel structures. These were relocated to allow for the new bridge to be installed later this year. Safety surveys were carried out before the Council handed the line back to Network Rail on Boxing Day ahead of schedule.
Councillor Gary Sumner, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, said: “The New Eastern Villages is a major development that will go some way towards ensuring we hit the house-building targets laid out by central government, and these roadworks are vital to facilitate that development.
“The new e-newsletter is an effective way for residents and businesses to keep up to date with all the latest information that relates to the scheme and I would fully encourage people to sign up.
“It will be delivered directly to peoples’ inboxes every month and should prove to be a useful resource, containing interesting and engaging content, over the coming months and years.”
To sign up for the New Eastern Villages newsletter, click here: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/newsletter