It was great to meet a number of local residents and shoppers at Swindon Hub in The Parade at the first of our drop-in sessions ahead of the major improvements to Fleming Way and the surrounding area.

The information events -the second of which takes place at Swindon Hub between 11am and 3pm today - were organised to give local people the chance to speak to the contractor, bus operators and council officers about the scheme and its wider benefits.

Our colleagues from Swindon Bus Company were understandably busy answering questions about how bus services would be affected by the upcoming closure of Fleming Way, but I was really pleased to have the opportunity to speak directly to local people about the transformative impact this project will have on this part of the town centre.

A lot of people have questioned why more than £30m is being invested in Fleming Way. As well as providing a welcoming gateway into the town centre, vastly improved bus facilities and better cycle routes it will also stimulate growth in our town by increasing land values in the area and attracting investment which will deliver the shops, leisure facilities and homes that people want to see.

Stimulating growth in our town is a key part of the Council’s role in order to ensure Swindon continues to be successful for residents and businesses alike.

Those of you who have lived in the town for a number of years may remember that Swindon was once dubbed the fastest growing town in Europe.

I’m not sure if we could still lay claim to such a title, but our fantastic location continues to attract new firms to the Borough and, with our excellent transport links, attractive property prices and proximity to the beautiful countryside of Wiltshire and the Cotswolds, we know our population is set to grow even further over the next couple of decades.

We therefore need to carefully plan where any additional housing will be built through our Local Plan, and ensure we have the necessary roads, schools and amenities for the people who live here.

That last point is particularly important. The Council has overseen and continues to manage more than £220m of investment in infrastructure to support this growth, of which the Fleming Way scheme is one part.

Another major tranche of this work will be completed over the next few weeks when the improvement schemes at Nythe Road, Piccadilly roundabout and Gablecross junction are completed. We also expect to finally see the completion of Mead Way next month.

These major junction improvements have been brought forward before thousands of new homes are built in the Borough.

The schemes follow on from the extra capacity that has been created at the White Hart roundabout, the improvements to Junction 15 of the M4 and the new access road we have created under the motorway which will help to unlock thousands of more homes and employment land at Wichelstowe. The majority of the investment has also been secured through successful funding bids to central Government.

We know these schemes have caused major disruption to residents, but they are absolutely necessary to future-proof our road network so we don’t have to make changes when we have more vehicles on our roads in the years to come.

We are investing now so Swindon continues to have a bright future.