IT is good to hear that developer Crest Nicholson has built the first batch of homes at the Tadpole Farm development.

We hope the residents who were given a look around ahead of Thursday’s official launch were impressed by what they saw.

The developer says people coming to live at Tadpole Farm can look forward to having a cricket pitch, a community centre, private allotments, a pub and other amenities on their doorsteps.

The pub, we are told, could be open as early as next year. If any of our readers feel an eerie sensation of déjà-vu at this announcement, we suspect they either live in Redhouse or know something of that North Swindon neighbourhood.

Some years ago, when Redhouse was first built, residents and potential residents were assured that they’d have a local pub of their own in short order.

Unfortunately, they remain thirsty to this day unless they choose to drink at home or travel to another neighbourhood.

There has been more than one case of residents being assured by various developers that they could expect a wealth of amenities, only for those amenities not to appear.

We hope the pub and other promised attractions at Tadpole Farm materialise on time, or else future customers might treat such promises like the proverbial pie crust – to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Even worse for developers, planning authorities might routinely demand that all such amenities become rigid contractual obligations