Take a last look

The final hurdle in the controversial plan to build on the green swathe open land has been cleared and the development will now go ahead.

Last month protesters marched to the centre of Swindon to urge the council not to build on the greenfield site.

But now after seven years of debate, protest, argument and counter-argument, Swindon Council's decision to allow building to go ahead has been upheld.

Once formalities have been gone through, the first of some 4,500 houses will be built on land bounded by the M4 and the current southern extremes of the town within about 18 months. Completion will take 15 years.

In January, the £750m Bryant Homes scheme was given the go-ahead at a special meeting of the council's planning committee, but planning rules meant the matter had to be submitted to the office of Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, for evaluation.

He had the power to order a public inquiry, but has instead rubber-stamped the decision.

Swindon Council's design consultation and development manager, Martin Trewhella, said: "There is no need to hold a further vote the planning committee has made its decision."

The scheme, including shops and a school, has met protests ranging from marches to High Court action.

That court action, which was unsuccessful, was brought by the Front Garden Action Group (FRAG), whose leader, Terry King, today vowed that the fight was not over. The former Army officer said: "We may have lost the battle, but not the war."

The protesters say the site is unsuitable for development as much of it is prone to flooding, and that the new homes, complete with an infrastructure including schools and shops, would blight the environment, take away green space and create a noise and pollution problem.

Mr King pointed out that the final details of the plan still had to be put on display for public comment, and that his group would do its best to at least modify the plans by citing planning guidelines.

He added: "Even if the development goes ahead, we will do our best to ensure it is not a monstrous one."

But Mr King confessed disappointment with Mr Prescott's decision.

He said: "I think it's really sad. The Government has all these rules and regulations in place for developers which are supposed to take into account issues such as the environment, noise, flooding, pollution and the use of brownfield sites before green ones are touched, and yet seems to have ignored them."

Mr Trewhella said building work would begin once the detailed plans had been shown to the public and their comments and suggestions taken into account.

He added: "It will be perhaps 18 months before the first building work takes place, and the full programme of development will take about 15 years to implement."

How the land was lost

Pre-1997: There was talk by Wiltshire County Council, which controlled the land, of building on the Front Garden, but this was vehemently opposed by members from Swindon.

1997: Control of the Front Garden passed to the newly-created Swindon Borough Council. Swindon continued to boom, attracting workers and a demand for housing. The town had already expanded to the west with Freshbrook, Toothill and Shaw, and to the north with the still ongoing 10,000-home Northern Development.

1998: With demand for housing continuing, it was realised that more homes were needed in order to fill Government quotas. Some developers suggested building to the east, but others favoured the 700 acres to the south.

2001: The council having come out in favour of developing the Front Garden, FRAG began a series of protests which included taking the matter to judicial review in the High Court. FRAG lost, incurring £32,000 in court costs. They vowed to fight until the bulldozers moved in.

January 2004: Swindon Council's planning committee considers and accepts a huge planning proposal from Bryant Homes.

Barrie Hudson