Swindon road access for new homes receives £11.6m boost

Plans for a multimillion-pound road scheme to "unlock" sites for thousands of new homes near Swindon have received a £11.6m boost from the government.

The £30.5m project will link the town with the planned 8,650-home New Eastern Villages development.

Under the scheme an access road will be built from Commonhead Roundabout along with a new junction at Commonhead and mini roundabout at Wanborough village.

Work is due to be complete by autumn 2022.

The New Eastern Villages is "one of the largest greenfield developments in the country", according to the borough council.

The development is due to be built to the east of the A419.

In 2019, the authority was awarded £19m by the Housing Infrastructure Fund for a new road scheme.

Now it has been granted a further £11.6m from the Local Growth Fund and Department for Transport.

Opponents to some of the new housing have said they worry that those planned will be too many and that it will have a harmful impact on existing villages.

Transport Minister Baroness Vere said the scheme had been planned with "everyone in mind" to provide "swift journeys" between the town and the new development.

"Our funding towards this new road scheme will help make the New Eastern Villages site a reality," she said.

"It will provide a huge boost to Swindon's economy by supporting thousands of new homes and jobs."

Swindon Borough Council's Gary Sumner said this "really important link road" was essential to "deliver the New Eastern Villages".

He added: "We are investing £72.5m into the road network around the New Eastern Villages, most of which has been secured from government.

"This investment in Swindon's future is a great vote of confidence for our town."

Sophie White, from Homes England, the government's housing agency, said: "This funding unlocks critical housing sites by providing road, pedestrian and cycle access routes for the New Eastern Villages communities that will be built in coming years."