First phase of homes complete at Oakfield estate in Swindon

Work is progressing well on the eco-friendly Oakfield estate near Greenbridge, which is being delivered by Lovell on behalf of Nationwide Building Society.

The first phase of 74 homes has just been completed. When the entire development is done, it will include 239 mixed-tenure homes, of which 30 per cent will be affordable.

Lovell started working on the site in August 2022 after replacing Nationwide’s previous construction partner for the £50m scheme, Mi-space, which had collapsed into administration.

The doors to the three-bedroom The Cedar style show home opened to the public in December 2022, and the on-site children’s park, which is made using natural materials, opened in August 2023.

In January, the developer finished the first batch of new homes, with the second and third phases well underway and aiming for a completion date of late 2025.

Lovell regional managing director James Duffett said: “We are very proud that construction work at Oakfield is progressing well.

“Our site team is working exceptionally hard to deliver these homes to the highest standard.

“Oakfield is one of the country’s largest ‘off-gas’ communities, and a project that is incredibly important to us at Lovell.

“We pride ourselves on transforming brownfield sites and creating sustainable communities where people can be proud to live and work.

“We are looking forward to continuing our work and successful partnership with Nationwide Building Society.”

New homes at Oakfield in Swindon (Image: Lovell)

Each home is being fitted with solar panels, powered by air source heat pumps, and designed to reach an EPC efficiency rating of A. Many properties will also be pre-wired for residents to install electric car charging points.

One-bedroom apartments are available through affordable rent while two, three and four-bedroom terraced houses can be purchased outright via open market sale or with shared ownership.

Rachel Smith from Nationwide Building Society said: “It’s great to see that the first phase of building at Oakfield is now complete.

“Despite the pandemic presenting us with challenges, the end result is worth it. The standard of the properties is excellent, and the development has surpassed our expectations.

“We’re glad to see more public conversation around building on brownfield sites – it shows that the industry is catching up to the original logic that drove Oakfield in the first place. We’ve had people starting to move in over the last few months and it’s been great to see that, alongside Lovell, we’re not just building homes but also a whole new community.”