WORK on Swindon's Front Garden could start within months after legal agreements were signed.

As part of the deal, £40m will be spent on public facilities in the development and improvements in Swindon and Wroughton.

Developers and planners hope the £1bn scheme which will include 4,500 houses and new business areas creating 5,000 jobs will become a national example of good design.

Coun Jemima Milton, Swindon Council's cabinet member for environment and property, is delighted the project is going ahead.

"Making sure we have a top-class development that establishes a high quality of life for local people has to be the central aim of a forward looking council like Swindon," she said.

"This isn't just about building houses, it is about creating fantastic homes and a vibrant community.

"I know that the rest of the country will be looking at this development as an example of best practice."

Work on the 309-hectare site could start as early as October this year after the legal agreement was signed yesterday.

The £40m given by developers for public facilities includes contributions for two primary schools, a secondary school, a community centre, library, all-weather sports pitches, sports centre, allotments, bus service, restoration work on the Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal and nature reserves.

The deal also secures sites for the Primary Care Trust, two churches and a purpose-built police and ambulance facility, as well as backing for a public art programme.

And, with the council keen to make sure the development is integrated into Swindon, there is also a multi-million pound contribution to regeneration and improvements in Swindon town centre, Old Town and Wroughton.

The development is a pilot for the Government's new Design Code initiative to ensure high standards.

Eco-friendly measures such as solar panels could feature in 225 of the homes, which will be built to an excellent 'eco-house' rating. The rest will have a 'very good' rating.

The first houses will start to be built in May 2006, with the first occupants on-site by September 2006.

But the whole project is expected to take 13 years to complete, meaning that it should be finished in 2019.

Isabel Field