LABOUR MP Anne Snelgrove will bend ministers’ ears over the battle to save Coate, at next week’s party conference.

The Adver revealed yesterday that developers behind proposals for 1,500 homes close to Coate Water had appealed to Government for a final decision.

Now Anne Snelgrove has said she will take the matter to the top.

“I will take this matter to both housing minister Caroline Flint and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn at party conference,” said Ms Snelgrove.

“I will make sure that I fight this all the way to the top.”

The Pegasus Gateway Partnership wants to build 1,500 homes, a school and a university campus created on land between Marlborough Road, Coate Water and the M4.

The university element formed part of an earlier plan which collapsed after the University of Bath announced it was dropping out of the project.

Since then the company has claimed it has a university interested in the project – but has refused to say which.

The housing companies which make up the partnership, Redrow and Persimmon, lodged their latest planning application with Swindon Council last August.

Since then the company and council officers have been locked in detailed talks over the fine detail of the application.

In June the partnership filed a new, tweaked, version of its plan. And since then further talks have gone on.

But this week the company made a direct appeal to Government for a final ruling – bypassing Swindon Council’s planners altogether.

In a statement the company said it felt it was left with no choice but to make an appeal, after a year of waiting for Swindon Council to make a decision.

It also said that the application met all guidelines laid down by the council.

Councillors across the political spectrum have already attacked the company’s move.

Now Anne Snelgrove, MP for South Swindon, has waded in.

“This is typical developer behaviour and I really have no time for it,” said Ms Snelgrove.

“Because of that I’ll be opposing this.

“As far as I am aware this developer has never come to myself or the town’s other MP Michael Wills with the name of a university interested in this project.

“They have said they have interest from several universities but have declined to name them.

“That makes me think they have no-one.

“If they do have someone then I would say that a university prepared to enter into such an agreement without first consulting either of the town’s MPs or its council would be very foolish.

“For me there can be no building if there’s no university – and that includes speculative universities.”