NEXT week at cabinet my colleague Brian Mattock will present a report on the future development of Wichelstowe.

This is a key project for the borough’s future, as it will bring new homes, jobs, and schools to the town.

The report will confirm that the council is now ready to enter into a partnership with a private sector developer.

And I am delighted that we are proposing Barratt Developments, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, after an exhaustive process.

I would like to thank Brian and his officer team for the huge amount of work they have put into securing this deal.

I would also like to thank the councillors from all parties who have contributed to finding a solution that meets the borough’s needs.

This unity has helped provide reassurance to the private sector that the whole council is committed to making Wichelstowe a success.

As I have mentioned before, once it is completed Wichelstowe will provide a total of 4,000 homes, of which about one third have already been built.

We have insisted on high design standards for the homes and good landscaping to ensure that it is a pleasant place in which to live.

We are securing a free school to provide secondary education and we have Waitrose already there as part of our plans for a thriving district shopping centre.

All this is part of our goal of making sure the development is commercially sound, is of high quality and which supports Swindon’s economic development.

The council provided infrastructure in Middle and West Wichel in advance of building houses to make the site more attractive to developers.

But the subsequent downturn in the economy after 2008 meant the planned new homes were not built and the income to cover the cost did not come in.

The money currently being used to service the infrastructure costs debt, which is £1.5m each year, was paid to the council by the original Wichelstowe development partner Taylor Wimpey, and will last until 2018.

The joint venture now means income has been secured to meet the interest costs after that date and we will pay off £43m of debt within the next 20 years.

In addition to paying off the debts, we expect to make tens of millions of pounds additional income over the course of the development. This, too, will be a resource for the council to invest for the good of the whole Borough.

Should the cabinet agree to this partnership, there will still be a considerable amount of work to deliver all the homes and jobs that we expect.

Nevertheless, this arrangement puts us on a sound footing to achieve this.