Traders on the Okus Estate face having to close or move their business as developers plan more homes next to the PMH site

OKUS Trading Estate could be flattened to pave the way for yet more houses in Swindon.

The 14-acre estate, which is home to some of the town's oldest business, will be used for modern housing if Swindon planners agree to the ambitious development.

The site, next to the decommissioned Princess Margaret Hospital, is the latest area of Swindon to become the focus of residential development after it was confirmed brownfield development specialists Fairview New Homes Ltd had purchased the land for an undisclosed sum.

The Enfield-based company bought the estate from Okus Property and will submit a detailed application to the council's planning department in July, which if approved, could see construction work start as early as next year. But no one at Fairview will speculate as to how exactly many homes could be built.

The trading estate is the only commercial activity left on Okus Road now the crumbling PMH site has closed. Planners recently granted outline permission for a 70-bed nursing home and 400 units of housing on the hospital site.

Around 40-units on the Okus Trading Estate face the dilemma of closing or relocating, but Fairview has said it will assist existing tenants in finding suitable new accommodation.

Ian Bailey, 45, managing director of Bailey's Accident Repair Centre Limited, which has been on the state for 27 years, said: "With the types of business situated here it is not easy to relocate to new industrial areas. They want high-tech and fancy computer companies not car body repair centres, even though they are an important facility for the community.

"This is a very difficult time for us. We have 10 people working here and are a successful centre, but relocation is very expensive .

"This announcement hasn't come as a real shock because for the past year the site has been going downhill. All the new leases are very short-term with get-out clauses. If we can't find anywhere else then we may well have to close down."

Fairview, whose recent developments include the Millennium Quay in Greenwich and Enfield Island Village, intends proposing a development of high-density design quality with a mixture of flats and houses and its scheme will be made up of 30 per cent of affordable housing.

Terry King, 75, chairman of the Okus Area Residents' Association welcomed the news as he considers Okus Road unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles.

He said: "It is sensible development because the site is most unsuitable for what it is now used for. Okus Road was built in the Austin Seven age and not meant for 40-tonne lorries so it makes a lot of sense to build next door the PMH site.

"We welcome this residential development and are happy to work with developer I would have thought 200 homes would be about right."

Fairview among the top 10 developers in the country primarily concentrates its operations in the Greater London area, but have opted to develop the Okus Trading Estate because it is a 'prime brownfield site'.

Martin Jewell, planning director for Fairview, said: "Following the closure of PMH and the decision to grant planning permission for residential purposes, the nature of Okus Road is changing.

"The trading estate brings goods vehicles along the road and looks unattractive in a residential environment. That's why the council has allocated Okus Trading Estate for residential purposes in its development plan.

"Understandably some of the existing tenants have been concerned about the future. I'm pleased to say we have appointed Vantage Asset Management Limited to assist the existing tenants to find suitable accommodation."