Developers are offering the village of South Marston a new park and woodland, if they can build more houses.

But the parish council is not in favour of the idea

The proposal is part of a housing scheme put forward by developer Bower Mapson Homes Ltd.

The Swindon company has applied for planning permission to build eight houses in an exclusive development off Nightingale Lane just on the eastern edge of the expanding village.

As part of the plans the company wants to build 2.6 acres of ‘public park and woodland’ which it will give to the parish council.

The application says: “The proposals are based on creating a parkland style character adjacent to Church Farm Lane with small seating areas alongside the footpath where views of both the church and war memorial can be appreciated.”

“The main body of open space is envisaged as being naturalistic with blocks of native woodland and copse planting and unsurfaced mown grass paths providing opportunities for a range of walking routes.”

Suggesting paths could link up to the solar farm to the north and a wider footpath network, the application adds: “The park and woodland is a valuable amenity for the village forming a major part of a ‘green thread’ running through the village.”

But the proposals runs counter to the neighbourhood plan drawn up by the parish council.

Vice-chairman Sylvia Brown said: “We met on Tuesday to discuss the plan. The site is not designated for housing or public green space in the plan, and it would have to have significant benefits to overturn that.”

The council doesn’t see those benefits.

Mrs Brown added: “Nightingale Lane doesn’t have a footpath alongside, and our plan says there should be no more development along it that causes more traffic, and we can’t see any prospect of there being a footway built along the road.

“It’s true the developers created St Julian’s Wood some years ago which is now extremely well used, and maintained by the parish council and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

“But this scheme isn’t the same- the previous wood came with a sum of money for us to use to look after it - there’s no money with this one, and it would become something of a burden to the council. This is not a good bargain for us.”

The developers say the idea of creating a new park and wood next to the houses is similar to the scheme the company out together in St Julian’s Close in the village 16 years ago, and is in part meant to maintain a green barrier to the village joining up with other areas of Swindon.