I read with dismay the minutes from the recent meeting with local councillors concerning the Southern Area development plans.

One of the main aspects of the proposed development on the Front Garden which is continually ignored is the impact to local Swindon residents of all this extra traffic. The council's own figures indicate an 89 per cent increase in traffic in one direction through Old Town in the mornings. Eighty-nine per cent this is an outrage!

Every single one of the proposed transport schemes from the Southern Area Development routes the traffic through an already congested Old Town.

Further restrictions to local traffic are proposed, such as removing access to High Street from Marlborough Road, and adding more traffic lights and bus lanes. These will all further increase congestion and bring Devizes Road to an almost total stop.

The roundabout at the end of Newport Street which was recently installed and only removed after endless protests on safety and increased congestion grounds by local residents gives us a horrible vision of what is to come. Congestion, congestion and more congestion.

Now what do I see? Professor Breakwell insisting that the University of Bath in Swindon WILL be built at Coate or nowhere. Adding further to congestion and environmental damage, of course.

Well I'm sorry, this just isn't good enough! I for one am sick of this blackmail.

When will the council understand that they are overseeing the destruction of our quality of life within Swindon? The price for this expansion just isn't worth paying!

All this extra development of houses is not only disastrous in terms of the destruction of the buffer zone and Front Garden but inevitably has the knock-on traffic problems.

To say there is no other possible route for the southern area links and that traffic has to go through Old Town just isn't good enough!

It just further shows how flawed and polictally-motivated the plans to place Swindon's expansion on the Front Garden actually are.

What do we have to do to make the councillors actually realise that they are responsible to the local residents and taxpayers, not the developers? Their number one duty should be to safeguard the local environment and quality of life and ensure that any expansion of Swindon happens in the best way for its existing residents.

The provision of local services and any expansion must not take place to the detriment of the existing residents.

From what I can see, this entire devlopment is in the wrong place, and I am saddened to see that we will all bear the consquences of this flawed political decision.

Robert Marsh

Corby Avenue