Campaigners fighting plans to build on the Front Garden have proved an important point following the flooding of the rural area.
It undeniably throws into question the feasibility of building 3,800 houses on the site and lends weight to claims that the land should remain free of any development.
The government has also lent credence to the argument by announcing that it will now encourage councils to build on higher land, avoiding flood plains altogether.
Yet developers and Swindon Borough Council are unlikely to see things the same way.
Developers are not as a general rule deterred from building on flood plains.
And more importantly, if the Front Garden is not used for development, where else then should the houses go?
Other controversial sites such as Kingsdown, Lydiard Millicent, Wootton Bassett and Wan- borough/South Marston will inevitably be back in the frame.
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