A FRESH house share bid for Eastcott Road has been slammed by councillors.

Developers have lodged a planning application with Swindon Borough Council to convert the former Stanwells tool shop into an 11 bedroom shared house. It follows a bid last year to put 12 bedrooms in the old shop.

Parish councillors objected to the new application, saying that the grounds on which they had opposed it last year remained unchanged.

Then, the parish council said the proposed development lacked a fire escape, did not conform to the local plan, wasn’t sympathetic to the character of the building, there was insufficient parking and the bedrooms were too small.

Stan Pajak, Eastcott parish councillor, said: “The reasons for people’s objections are still there.”

Coun Barrie Thompson said: “My objection when it first came out not long after the Grenfell tragedy is the fact that there is no other fire escape. If you’re up on the top floor and there’s a fire on that staircase, which is wooden, you’ve got no way of escaping except jumping through the window. I don’t think it is satisfactory.”

Paul Dixon, another parish councillor for Eastcott, said: “I don’t feel the provision for the cycles and refuse is big enough. It’s a small space and if you have a Eurobin or two, can you get 11 cycles in there?”

However, councillors acknowledged that changes had been made from the last application. They included removing one bedroom from the plans and replacing it with a bicycle and bin store.

South Swindon Parish Council voted to recommend the new plans be rejected by the borough.