A DEVELOPMENT company with close ties to Swindon has secured control of a crucial area of land which could open the door for work to proceed on the New Eastern Villages project.

Capital Land Property Group took control of the Great Stall area to the south of the A420, as well as being the proposed site of 2,000 homes it will also provide the only road links and access points for adjacent development blocks.

Announcing the deal, Chief Executive Jeremy Francis said: “It has been a hard fought twelve months until this was sealed in December.

“We’ve staked our claim, put a big flag in the ground and the amount of investment we’re making into Swindon isn’t something we’ll be walking away from.

“We’ve got a deal that makes perfect sense for us commercially and gives the land owner what they need in terms of commitment, the project is now very deliverable from our point of view.”

The Great Stall site sits in the middle of the New Eastern Villages development which formed a crucial part of the Swindon Borough Local Plan 2026.

It consists of nine separate development blocks distinguishable by the green rural corridors that will be maintained between them, in total it will accommodate at least 8,000 new homes.

Despite the approval of the plan, the project has been slow to get off the ground with two major outline planning applications seemingly stalled.

The South Marston extension, the new Rowborough village and the Priors Farley development to the north of the A420 are all cut off from it by the main London to Bristol train line.

A tunnel will have to be built to provide access and that tunnel will have to come out in the Great Stall area.

Similar constraints exist with the Earlscourt and Lower Earlscourt sites to the south whose planners also need to rely on access routes through Great Stall to the A420.

It is hoped that with the crucial site now secured, development planning can pick up pace and the existing outline applications can move forward.

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said: “This is a welcome announcement as it will provide momentum to deliver another phase of the New Eastern Villages in line with our adopted Local Plan.

“Great Stall is a key part of the Eastern Villages, as it will provide not only much-needed housing, but also facilities and infrastructure of benefit to both the immediate locality and the wider development as whole.

“It’s also essential in making sure things come forward in a co-ordinated manner. We haven’t seen the details of any planning applications yet, but it is definitely positive progress.”

A significant amount of overarching infrastructure work is still needed to make the construction of so many new homes in the area viable.

The most pressing concern for developers and local residents will be the introduction of much improved transport links.

Joint funding between the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and central government has been allocated for this work but it is conditional on the local authority making a strong business case in the coming year.

Mr Francis explained: “That funding forms a major part of the commercial delivery, it’s there to support the vital infrastructure that is already creaking and struggling to cope.

“There now has to be a comprehensive, cohesive plan which all of the developers can get behind.”