FURIOUS residents brought a council consultation to a standstill as they demanded long awaited answers to their east Swindon housing issues.

Scores of homeowners turned out at the presentation, which was set to inform locals of plans for the town’s proposed 12,000-home eastern development.

But before council planners could even launch the presentation angry residents began shouting about their current housing woes, including the long-suffered issue of flooding.

“It was supposed to be a presentation but it almost turned into a shouting match,” said Pauline Davis from Martinfield, Covingham.

“They couldn’t even explain what the plans meant because people were shouting their piece.”

Covingham and Nythe residents say they are concerned that the diamond-shaped development will not only increase traffic, noise and light pollution in the area but will only drag more innocent families into the flood nightmare Covingham suffered just two years ago.

“You look at these plans and it’s flood plain here and flood plain there,” said Mrs Davis who has lived in Covingham since 1968.

“I think it’s important that flooding issues for existing homeowners are rectified before any more homes go up.”

The proposed development has been submitted by a consortium of developers anxious to bring 12,000 homes and a pledge of 5,000 jobs to the east of the A419.

The east was selected as a potential development area following 2005’s Swindon Joint Study looking at how much growth could be accomodated in and around the town over the next 20 years.

Due to the size of the proposal a consultation roadshow which started on April 20 has been travelling around Swindon speaking to residents. This consultation ends on June 15, after which no further concerns will be accepted for consideration.

Counciller Dale Heenan (cons, Covingham and Nythe) is urging worried residents to write to the council planning department with their concerns by the cut-off date.

“Residents need to write individual letters with their individual concerns,” he said, “One hundred letters are one hundred seperate concerns, a petition just won’t cut it with this issue,” he said. Letters regarding the proposal can be sent to the planning department at Swindon Council’s Premier House.

To view the Eastern Development Area Supplementary Planning Document visit www.swindon.gov.uk/spd.