COMMUNITIES around Swindon fear they could be swallowed up by the town's continuing expansion.

The Swindon area may have to accommodate 24,000 new homes by 2026 and there are fears that the town is outgrowing itself.

Brian Atfield, the deputy chairman of Cricklade Town Council, said: "As regards Cricklade and the Lydiards, people are terrified that Swindon is going to encroach on where they live. It's not that far away now.

"It's putting increasing pressure on the roads as it is. The infrastructure is not adequate to take the amount of traffic there is now.

"I think Swindon is outgrowing itself. We could afford some limited expansion of other market towns in Wiltshire, but the expansion shouldn't be concentrated on Swindon itself."

On Tuesday Cricklade Town Hall was the venue for the first of a series of consultations on the development arranged for January and February, organised by Wiltshire County Council and Swindon Council.

Coun Atfield is pleased the consultation is taking place.

He said: "It's the right thing to do. Why should the select few determine the nature of where developments should take place? They should consult the people about the environment they live in and take a balanced view."

Cricklade town clerk Margaret Griffiths said that notification of the meeting reached the town council while its offices were closed for Christmas and New Year and as a result not many residents knew about it. However, the information will be available on the Cricklade Town Council website later this week.

Chris Morley, the secretary of Cricklade Action Partnership, said: "Swindon's plans for its expansion have now become open house. It needs to expand outside its own boundaries.

"They're now showing what they would like to do to achieve an expansion outside the Swindon area.

"They want to come into North Wiltshire.

"We don't want it to come our way and in every direction people will say the same thing."

Linda Jewell, forward planning manager for Swindon Council, said: "This is about seeking the views of local people, businesses and a whole range of people who live and work in the Swindon area about Swindon's future development for the period up to 2026.

"While it is being suggested we should make better use of urban land, what we don't want to do is to build on every last piece of green space in the town itself.

"So there is going to be a need for some development on green fields on the edge of the town."

A steering group made up of the various affected councils will have the opportunity to make recommendations to the South West Regional Assembly, which will publish the regional spatial strategy for the south west.

Future meetings will be held in Swindon town centre, Coleview, Shrivenham and Purton.

The next is on Tuesday at Wootton Bassett Memorial Hall between 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

David Andrew