NOBODY will be able to plead that they were not warned when the planning application is finally submitted.

The developer, Bryant Homes, is going to extraordinary lengths to make sure that the town's residents are kept fully informed about the progression of its plans for the Front Garden.

Six months after the High Court cleared the way for the multi-million pound development it ruled that the council was within its rights to earmark the area for housing the developer has produced a second round of 90,000 glossy leaflets giving the latest update on the long-running saga.

Meanwhile, a project team at DPDS Consulting in Old Town is welcoming queries from anyone with an interest in the project, quickly known as the Southern Development Area.

The approach reflects Bryant's determination to ensure that consultation with the public is as thorough as possible before the blueprint is handed into Swindon Council's planning department.

The leaflets, which are being delivered to every home in the town, include an analysis of the comments made at the public exhibitions held in February and March and the initial responses of the developers to the concerns raised.

They show that the biggest concern of the public is about how building 3,800 homes on the fields near Old Town will impact on the town's already congested roads.

The developers accept that the management of transport to and from the estate will be a "vital consideration" and they are working on ways of minimising traffic congest-ion.

One of the biggest themes emerging from the scheme appears to be the idea of sustainability a concept architect John Simpson first linked with the development earlier this year.

And for the first time, Bryant has revealed that it will propose the construction of four new schools to serve the estate.

The details are all coming together ahead of the submission of an outline planning application to the council, which is expected by the end of July.

Les Durrant, project director for DPDS, said that he is hoping for a relatively smooth journey through the planning process.

"Something of this complexity takes many years to come to fruition and, in fairness, Bryant has made a point of not rushing things," he explained.

"But the principle of this scheme has been through numerous public examinations now and I think the issue of whether or not this should be a major development area is now out of the way.

"It's more a case of how and when it goes ahead, rather than if.

"We have been working on it in one way or another since 1996 and we know the site very well now and have a very good idea of what we are trying to achieve.

"But we still welcome any comments from the public and we endeavour to reply to any queries we receive."

Swindon Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawn) believes Bryant's thorough approach can be explained by his belief that the application is almost certain to be called in by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.

"The borough council owns two thirds of the land concerned, so it would hardly be democratic for us to make a decision on the plans," he said.

"Bryant knows it is likely to go to an inspector's inquiry, so they are making sure they dot all the i's and cross all the t's before submitting their application."

Protesters from the Front Garden Action Group have still not given up their campaign against the development, but if Mr Durrant's confidence is anything to go by, the battle is looking increasingly forlorn.