The Queen's Drive affordable home scheme is rolling ahead after the first residents moved into the completed first phase earlier this year.

Delivered by Willmott Dixon on behalf of the Council, this initial stage of the development has delivered 32 flats and 15 houses on the site of the former George Gay Gardens building.

The new homes have been designed with energy-saving and environmentally friendly features like PV panels and triple glazing, as well as bird and bat boxes to help local wildlife.

They have also been designed to reflect Swindon’s unique heritage and efforts have been made to incorporate the town’s railway history into the designs.

Alongside the work, Willmott Dixon has taken steps to make the construction site eco-friendly by using 6,100 litres of hydro-treated vegetable oil instead of diesel and reusing or recycling 100 per cent of the demolished materials.

Work is already underway on the second phase of the project, which has resulted in the demolition of the old T-blocks and the start of construction on 68 flats and 34 houses. This aims to be completed next year.

When fully complete, the scheme will see a total of 149 affordable homes including 100 new flats and 49 houses