THE plan to offer a disused car park to developers to make money for Swindon Borough Council has returned.

But having asked officers to look at it again and see whether the Groundwell site should be reopened as a park and ride scheme, councillors are disappointed more hasn’t been made of that.

A guide to developers suggesting they might want to buy and redevelop the land on the edge of Penhill, just off the Cricklade Road, will be discussed again by councillors on the council’s planning committee on Tuesday

The guide offers developers four possible uses – a housing estate, a housing estate with a care home included, a commercial development which may have a supermarket and nursery school, or industrial use with seven units of different sizes and car parking.

Labour councillor John Ballman, who represents Gorse Hill and Pinhurst, is disappointed. He had asked officers to include an option to reinstate the park and ride facilities.

While it is mentioned briefly in the report as being “acceptable from a planning perspective” and the site is no longer referred to as a ‘former’ park and ride, it is not presented as one of the four main options.

Coun Ballman said: “I am disappointed. I want it to be put as an option and send out for public consultation, which I fully accept is very difficult right now, to see if people wants it as a park and ride. That was the idea.

“It’s clear that traffic assessments of the impact on the area if we ever see the snow centre (at North Star) look at traffic coming east to west and west to east but not to north and south.

“But with the Tadpole Garden Village development, development at the old speedway track and in Blunsdon it’s clear there will be a lot of traffic heading north-south. It’s using Cricklade Road and the fact the council is removing the Moonrakers roundabout says it all.”

The report to the committee says: “Restoring the site to a park and ride would not require planning permission. It was therefore not necessary for the brief to prescribe layout expectations for the site’s reuse for this purpose.”

The planning committee meeting starts at 6pm on Tuesday. A weblink available on the meeting agenda's page on Swindon.gov.uk will be activated for members of the public to be able to follow.