'Swindon should be in charge of Bassett' (From Swindon Advertiser)

'Swindon should be in charge of Bassett'

2:20pm Friday 27th November 2009

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Wootton Bassett should come under the control of Swindon Council if a 3,700-home development goes ahead on land west of Swindon.

This is the view of one West Swindon councillor who says that Swindon will be forced to cope with the pressure of the new houses but will get no extra funding.

Wootton Bassett would be asked to provide 900 homes by 2026, while another 2,000 will be built in the Pry Farm area and up to 800 at Ridgeway Farm under the proposals. The plans are included in the stalled South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) – a planning blueprint for the next two decades.

Swindon Council’s cabinet has already objected to the plans, saying they will have a huge effect on Swindon’s roads, schools and healthcare provision, with no extra funding.

Coun Steve Wakefield (Con, Toothill and Westlea) said: “If this development is actually going to go ahead in Wootton Bassett maybe it should be assumed as part of Swindon.

“If we are going to have their homes we might as well have full control of our borders.

“We were originally told there would only be 200 homes, now there are more than 3,000, with no extra funding for the infrastructure we need.

“A lot of people in West Swindon are really concerned about this.”

Coun Peter Greenhalgh, lead member for sustainability, transport and strategic planning, said it was a debate worth having.

He said: “If there are all these houses being built right on the border of Swindon where is it likely these people will work or go shopping? “It’s a good guess that it will be Swindon.

“Perhaps we should be looking at how Swindon is going to be compensated for this scheme that affects cross border issues such as transport and healthcare.

“Whether now is the time to look at further expansion is a matter for debate.

“Certainly Swindon can’t keep taking more and more development without any support from Government.”

South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove also condemned the development.

She said: “It is not the Labour Government that is dumping 3,000 homes on Swindon’s doorstep, this is Coun Greenhalgh's Conservative colleagues at Wiltshire Council.

“I have opposed this development and I will fight to keep that traffic from coming into my ward."

However, Mrs Snelgrove said she was not convinced that Wootton Bassett should become part of Swindon.

She said: “I think Swindon has a very different character and very different needs to the market towns.”

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