CONSTRUCTION has begun on a controversial housing development in Old Town which 1,000 people signed a petition trying to stop.

Protestors spoke out against plans to build 62 homes on Ambrose Field near Croft Road but. the proposals got the green light in July 2018 and developers purchased the land in September this year.

Parish councillors from different parties were united in their opposition to the development.

Labour parish councillor for south Swindon Nadine Watts said: "Coun Jane Milner-Barry and I campaigned against plans to build on the Ambrose site as this area was not designated for housing in the local plan and residents raised concerns about flooding and increased traffic.

"More houses need to be built - and this includes a mix of affordable and social housing - but these developments need to be built in appropriate locations.

"Swindon Borough Council is currently falling victim to predatory developers due to the failure of the published local plan 2015. This needs to be resolved and we need to ensure that this time the targets are realistic.

"It is good to see that the temporary footpath to the rear of the site is now open, as it is important that access is maintained to the remaining green space.

"Once the 62 new homes are completed in 2021, we hope the new residents will be very happy here. Old Town is a great place to live."

Conservative south Swindon parish councillor Nick Burns-Howell said: “While I remain thoroughly disappointed that despite our efforts, the site got planning permission, I have met with the developers to discuss ways to reduce its impact.

“We wanted the opportunity to secure the land as a community asset but the land’s former owners would not engage with us.

“I still think the site is inappropriate for development but I’m pleased that the footpath will be kept open throughout the construction process.

“I will work closely with residents and Taylor Wimpey to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum and we keep the remaining fields a green space.

“If anyone has any concerns or things they would like to see the developer do, please get in contact with me.”

Sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire Danielle Heard looked forward to the completion of the two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom homes.

She said: “We’re so proud to have started work on Ambrose Gardens. Our team has been working incredibly hard on the planning application and land purchase.

“Now that the production team is on site I’m sure we’ll start to see the development taking shape very soon.

“The first homes are due to go on sale in spring 2020, and after the success of our previous developments in the area we would recommend that interested buyers get in touch."

The land being built on is not marked for housing development in the Local Plan but the borough council’s planning committee could not refuse permission for it because at the time, Swindon could not demonstrate that it could deliver its target number of homes for the next five years.

Enough proposed housing has been given the go-ahead to meet this target but some developers who receive approval then sit on the land they have and delay actually building the development

This means that the approved housing that has not yet started construction does not count towards the five-year target.

So there’s a loophole where developers can receive permission to earmark more sites for property development because Swindon has not, technically, met its housing target.

Refusing permission would attract an appeal by the developer that they would probably win, with costs then awarded to them and paid for by Swindon taxpayers.