A HUGE crowd gathered by Ambrose Road Field on Saturday at a rally to protest a housing developer's proposal to build 62 homes on the field.

Residents from both sides of the field which borders Wroughton and Wichelstowe came out in force to show their opposition to Taylor Wimpey's plans.

The developer is seeking permission from Swindon Borough Council to build the homes on the site and the council's planning committee are yet to make a decision.

Croft Road resident Pauline Beasley was concerned about the development increasing the risk of flooding in the area as the field acts as a flood plain after heavy downpours.

She said: "We are all very unhappy about this, we've lived here a number of years and we have all had flooded gardens after it's rained at one time or another.

"This is already a huge problem so the field should not be built on."

Tim Duggan lives in Oakhurst but was passionate about protecting the field from developers.

He said: "There are precious few green open spaces in town like this and each one needs to be protected as so many people use them, and there's so much wildlife here.

"If this one goes through it will make it easier for future developments so we have to make a stand now.

"We understand that there is a need for housing but these people have got to come up with better ideas and I hope this rally makes an impact."

Old Town Labour councillors Nadine Watts and Jane Milner-Barry organised the event, along with former South Swindon parliamentary candidate Sarah Church.

Nadine said: "I'm so pleased that so many people have turned up, it's important to show that there is a lot of continued local opposition to this.

"It seems unfair that residents are being penalised by developers trying to build on land that should not be built on.

"It's a rural buffer, it's not suitable for housing."

Other political parties have also opposed the plans.

Martin Costello from UKIP was at the rally and vehemently opposed the proposed development on the field by Ambrose Road.

He said: "I grew up on this road and lived here for 20 years.

"I'm really keen to protect this beautiful field, I spent hours playing on it with my kite and it's nice and quiet.

"The road is not built for heavy traffic and there's no need to build here."

The field is not allocated for housing in Swindon's Local Plan but this is a hurdle that developers have found easy to overcome.

Local authorities must show that they can provide a viable five-year supply of housing in line with numbers allocated to them but delays in the delivery of major projects mean that the council has been unable to prove they have a sufficient supply of housing.

In these cases, developers are no longer obliged to adhere to the Local Plan and any attempts to stand in the way of speculative developments are unlikely to be successful.

Any objections to the plans can be sent to sbcdc@swindon.gov.uk, quoting reference S/OUT/17/0882 and giving your name and address.