A HOUSING complex that will "set the standard" for building in the heart of Swindon for the next 30 years has finally won the grudging backing of council planners.

Officers are recommending that the council's planning committee support the £20 million Phoenix Gate development when it meets on Monday.

But they also say the 189-home apartment complex is "not the best scheme which could be built on this important site".

And they state they are only supporting it on balance because of the other benefits it will bring, like more investment in the town centre and extra housing.

The 10, eight, and five storey complex, which would be built on the site of the Post Office in Fleming Way, has twice been rejected by the planners.

They said, amongst other things, that it was poorly designed, and did not provide enough open space.

Developer Beaufort Western, which also masterminded the highly successful Plaza 21 building behind Regent Street, threatened in September to withdraw from the scheme unless it received more cooperation from council officials.

Such a move would have torn a big hole in the council's 30-Year Vision, which maps out a vibrant cultural future for the town centre.

But the two sides appeared to have mended relations last month, when the Evening Advertiser revealed councillors would be presented with another slightly amended plan this month.

The officers' report to councillors at Monday's meeting says the council has won concessions on the number of affordable homes that Beaufort Western will make available on the site.

Some 10 per cent of the development, or 20 flats, will now be offered to 'key workers' like nurses, teachers and police officers, or those looking for the first step on the housing ladder.

The council has, meanwhile, given way on the question of public open space admitting that there is little available near the site and that it cannot force Beaufort Western to set some aside elsewhere.

It also criticises the design of the complex, saying it is too 'inward-looking', and that residents would have little balcony or amenity space outside of their flats.