Views sought on managing traffic from 700 new homes in West Swindon

1:00pm Sunday 3rd February 2013 in News By Scott D'Arcy

Councillors Keith Williams and Nick Martin looking over Ridgeway Farm, near West Swindon, where 700 new homes are set to be built Councillors Keith Williams and Nick Martin looking over Ridgeway Farm, near West Swindon, where 700 new homes are set to be built

COUNCILLORS in West Swindon are hoping to hear ideas from the community about how best to prevent total chaos on the roads when a controversial housing development is built.

Shaw ward councillor Keith Williams, the lead member for transport, is set to hold a consultation on February 16 with officers from the highways department to discuss how to prevent roads across West Swindon becoming clogged up when 700 homes are built at Ridgeway Farm, north of Peatmoor.

The Secretary of State approved Taylor Wimpey’s controversial application on appeal in November, following a long battle and opposition from residents and both Swindon and Wiltshire councils.

One of the proposals includes installing a bus gate at the entrance to the development site on Swinley Drive.

Fellow ward councillor Nick Martin (Shaw, Con) said the council was being forced to plan for infrastructure changes for which they will receive no recompense as the site is on Wiltshire Council land.

“I’ve thought about building a wall,” he said.

“It is a very sore subject. Swindon is providing all the amenities and Wiltshire Council will collect the council tax.

“There will also be no access to section 106 payments, whatever they are worth.

“All we seem to get is piggy-back applications and there is no interest or enthusiasm by developers to pay for the necessary roads.

“Schools are expensive, but not as much as roads.

“West Swindon roads were designed and built for the homes it has got but, of course, Mead Way also serves the northern expansion because nobody built the proper roads for that at the time.

“If each household has two cars then Ridgeway Farm will see an extra 1,400 cars which will be using Swindon’s infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, a section of Roughmoor Way, Shaw, between Ramleaze Drive and Cartwright Drive, including the Roughmoor Way roundabout, will be closed for a week from Monday, February 4 for repair and resurfacing.

Coun Martin said the closure could highlight the future problems with increased traffic the area’s roads as motorists who use Roughmoor Way as a rat run will now be forced back on to Mead Way.

The consultation event will take place at Roughmoor Social Hall, Swinley Drive on Saturday February 16, from 11am to 1pm.

Comments(25)

batch says...
1:29pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Perhaps spending the Thamesdown Drive redevelopments/North Swindon section 106 on what it was meant for would have been a start: Namely a link at the bottom of Thamesdown Drive->B&Q roundabout.

Since this wasn't done, my vote goes to the brick wall.

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Captain T says...
1:52pm Sun 3 Feb 13

I don't know the site that well but if the land is on Wiltshire Council's land then don't build a connecting road from Swindon onto the development. Let Wiltshire Council deal with it.

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gambon says...
2:03pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Swindon is part of wiltshire can we not all work together or is that asking a bit to much

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anotherimigrant says...
2:07pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Why ask us. You asked what we wanted when you sold the brunel center. 90million, it went into your pension fund and was lost overnight, no trace or auditable search was ever done.

You could have built the filth hospital that replaced the old house of death and made a profit. But you didnt want that.

If you have to ask us that means you dont have a clue what your supposed to be doing, thats normal for swindon council.

You cant look after the roads system as it is so as soon as the revoulution comes your all out.

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Hmmmf says...
3:00pm Sun 3 Feb 13

And here was I thinking that such rudimentary considerations as traffic and infrastructure would've formed a fundamental part of any planning decisions *before* permissions were granted.

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greenpacer says...
3:19pm Sun 3 Feb 13

As usual this council has'nt got a clue ,but they keep selling plots along Mead Way moaning it can't take the traffic when it should have been turned into a dual carriageway long time ago ! In my opinion putting a bus gate at Swinley Drive is madness. Speed humps are better then everyone can still use the road.

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greenpacer says...
3:23pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Another alternative build the road through to the B and Q Barnfield junction with Great Western Way and also improve a link through Cheney Manor Industrial Estate .

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peatmoor pirate says...
3:27pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Hmmmf wrote:
And here was I thinking that such rudimentary considerations as traffic and infrastructure would've formed a fundamental part of any planning decisions *before* permissions were granted.
Yes it is, that's why Wilts Council said no to the planning application because there wasn't infrastructure in place and SBC agreed. It was Eric Pickles, the Minister who thought it was ok to inflict this on the people of Swindon. As a conservative, he has let down his local Councillors and MPs, all of whom opposed it, as well as given a v sign to his own localism act. All of them have lost my vote as clearly the Tory Party is untrustworthy.

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LordAshOfTheBrake says...
4:10pm Sun 3 Feb 13

The councillors who campaigned for election with the pledge to oppose the development should all be putting themselves up for re-election. Tomlinson in particular since she was involved with the planning and knew they would not object or as they put it after election could not object!

The councillors should have done more when the proposal was going through planning, but they couldn't be bothered despite just about everyone telling them this would be a problem.

The councillors couldn't be bothered to listen before, so why do they think the electorate can be bothered with them now.

If they think its going to be bad from Ridgeway farm, just think Tadpole farm is going to be twice the size.


The answer is simple. Block up the road access into Swindon and force the traffic to use Wiltshire roads to the main trunks.


Roads are just one of the infrastructure issues, schools is another with North Swindon already been over subscribed.

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The Patrician says...
4:15pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Never mind Ramleaze Drive - when is the appalling Purton Road from Mead Way junction to Common Platt going to be fixed ?

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faatmaan says...
4:28pm Sun 3 Feb 13

if no money is forthcoming for swindon, deny all construction access through the Swindon side of it and force it onto WCC roads, watch the residents of that area scream.surely if this site is to built onto Swindon the area should be transferred into Swindon, we'll end up with the absurd position of two authorities in one area, no sense to it at all except for the money WCC , that wil not be spent in the area concerned.

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Davey Gravey says...
5:12pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Why build there anyway? There is an abandoned site on the front garden not completed

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Davey Gravey says...
5:12pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Why build there anyway? There is an abandoned site on the front garden not completed

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house on the hill says...
5:16pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Just what the hell do we need councillors for or pay them if all they do is ask us? They always have the lovely excuse of "the public's input is important" which is just another way of saying "we dont have a clue what to do, help!".

As others have said, surely this is decided before they give permission to build not after. What a bunch of headless chickens!!!!!!!

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Melgee says...
5:40pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Wiltshire County Council have been rejecting major house building schemes because of the poor road infra-structure.

County Councillor's have been aware of this fact for years which is why it keeps getting rejected. None of the major house developer's are interested in putting new money into new roads.

How difficult is it for local councillor's to make a firm decision based on facts?

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pats43 says...
8:35pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Just like central Goverment - incompetant. They have not got got a clue what they are doing.

It will be traffic gridlock from the Tadpole Farm development, Ridgeway Farm on top of the rest of the North Swindon traffic along Thamesdown Drive. They have not thought this out and what serious consequenes this is going to cause in the future.

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anotherimigrant says...
9:30pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Here are the results of a recent planing application that was opposed, as written about in this paper

But Steph Excell, the secretary of Oakhurst Residents’ Association, said: “It’s exactly what we predicted would be the outcome of this three months: that they’ve done nothing to protect Oakhurst Way.

“And our ward councillors are disgraceful. I would be embarrassed to be a ward councillor if I allowed this situation to happen to an area I represented.

So that was a waste of time.

Now why dont the council call in their extreemly expensive friends that advise them on everthing, or get centrica or what ever their called to advise them. Its only money.

Swindon council couldnt plan a road sceam without a hundred sets of lights and two dozen roundabout most with trafic lights.

The road planers need replacing with people who know what there doing and whats needed to get this horrible mess sorted out.

Anything we want or need is ignored, ask yourselves this... How did roddy blur get elected in a ward he,s hated in, he got a school built were no one wanted it, superfast, so that it couldnt be stopped.

He wasted mllions on a park and ride that no one wanted, he has bus lanes that busses havent run on for more than 10yrs, true, no entrys no left or right turn, unless your a bus.

Resign in shame the whole of the planning department. You are not fit for purpose.

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Robh says...
10:21pm Sun 3 Feb 13

Quite simple allow people to buy bits of the new roads and make them private like have done in Old Shaw Lane at Nine Elms.

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Ian13 says...
7:51am Mon 4 Feb 13

The roads in West Swindon are already clogged up. Try getting to or from the M4 during the morning and evening rush hours.
If Wilts C C will not contribute to upgrading SBC's roads then they should be forced to put in their own roads via Purton / Lydiard / Hook.

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umpcah says...
8:00am Mon 4 Feb 13

The Patrician wrote:
Never mind Ramleaze Drive - when is the appalling Purton Road from Mead Way junction to Common Platt going to be fixed ?
October 2078 ?

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peatmoor pirate says...
8:04am Mon 4 Feb 13

pats43 wrote:
Just like central Goverment - incompetant. They have not got got a clue what they are doing.

It will be traffic gridlock from the Tadpole Farm development, Ridgeway Farm on top of the rest of the North Swindon traffic along Thamesdown Drive. They have not thought this out and what serious consequenes this is going to cause in the future.
All the local authorities opposed this pats43, it was central govt in the form of Eric Pickles who overrode all that local opposition with Ridgeway Farm. It is an undemocratic disgrace.

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Tim Newroman says...
10:03am Mon 4 Feb 13

Turn the lights off at Mannington Roundabout... a place where the only time you now experience severe congestion is during those periods of the day where they continue to insist on turning the traffic lights on.

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PaulD says...
11:05am Mon 4 Feb 13

Tim Newroman wrote:
Turn the lights off at Mannington Roundabout... a place where the only time you now experience severe congestion is during those periods of the day where they continue to insist on turning the traffic lights on.
This story is about the problems on Mead Way which are only going to get worse. They already stretch all the way from Westmead to Moredon/Thamesdown Drive.

They are caused by various different bottlenecks along the route. Changes to Mannington Roundabout won't affect this

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benzss says...
2:49pm Mon 4 Feb 13

PaulD wrote:
Tim Newroman wrote: Turn the lights off at Mannington Roundabout... a place where the only time you now experience severe congestion is during those periods of the day where they continue to insist on turning the traffic lights on.
This story is about the problems on Mead Way which are only going to get worse. They already stretch all the way from Westmead to Moredon/Thamesdown Drive. They are caused by various different bottlenecks along the route. Changes to Mannington Roundabout won't affect this
Indeed. After Westmead, the traffic is reduces substantially.

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greenpacer says...
12:55am Tue 5 Feb 13

Force W.C.C. to pay for the new roads required and yes divert to a main trunk road away from Swindon , but which existing route can take the traffic. A quick route to the M4 is one idea. The other way to Cirencester back road via Cricklade and only local traffic allowed through to Tadpole lane and Oakhurst Way. Some speed humps required there instead of the zig zags.

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