As many as 70 houses will be built on a very irregular patch of green land off Marlborough Road.

But even councillors who approved the scheme are worried that traffic from the site will cause difficulties for others because of the site's peculiar access.

Hannick Homes has been given permission to build the houses on an irregularly-shaped wedge of open land behind the M4 Van Hire centre on the Marlborough Road just west of the Commonhead roundabout.

Agent for the developers, Mike Robinson said: "This is a sustainable scheme in a key urban context on a main route into Swindon. It addresses a need for housing- particularly of staff at Great Western Hospital.

"We've been told junior staff at the hospital have difficulty finding housing, and this would help alleviate that shortage.

The plan was opposed by Liddington Parish Council - the chair of its planning committee, Coun Adrian Moore told the borough's committee: "There is no mention of where children might go to school, or where they might go to a GP. The local clinic at Eldene has even had protests outside it because it's so hard to make an appointment there.

"It's such an odd shape, I have no idea how they can squeeze 70 houses into it."

The impact of traffic generated by the new estate was also of concern.

Because traffic leaving the new estate will only be able to turn left on the westbound dual carriageway, any residents wanting to head east or north - to the A419 or Great Western Hospital or into town ought to drive west to the Coate roundabout first.

Similarly, if residents want to get home, because access into the site will be off the segregated road, those coming from town or from the west will have to drive past their road to the Commonhead Roundabout and come back.

But there are concerns that they might take short cuts, causing inconvenience to others.

Coun Fionuala Foley, who is also a ward member for the area said she was very concerned that people will be doing U-turns in Homington Avenue in the Badbury Park estate, in order to use the access from that estate to the east bound carriageways of Marlborough Road.

She said: "I don't think people wanting to go to the hospital, which is close, will want to turn left, drive all the way up to Coate, go around and come back.

They're going to go into Homington Avenue and try to do a U-turn. It's already a busy road and quite narrow, and you've got traffic coming off Woodbine Terrace. I think it could be quite dangerous."

The scheme was approved unanimously