Swindon & Wiltshire News
Local Plan challenged by Swindon Chamber before it is even adopted
Swindon Chamber of Commerce is calling for review of the town’s Local Plan before it is even officially adopted by the council, a meeting of planners, developers and land and estate agents heard on Tuesday.
The Swindon Borough Local Plan 2026 – a blueprint for housebuilding and economic development in the borough until 2026 – was given the green light by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate earlier this month.
Representations were made by a consortium of business support organisations led by Swindon Chamber of Commerce and including GWE Business West, Wessex Chambers, the FSB, and the CBI.
But the Chamber is concerned that the Plan – which is due to be formally adopted by the council in March – is ‘old before it is born’ and wants greater co-operation between planners at Swindon Borough Council and their neighbours in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire to address the issue of a town bursting at the seams.
“Swindon is running out of dry land on which to build,” said Les Durrant, group chairman of Swindon-based development planning and design company DPDS and chairman of the Chamber’s specialist working group formed to provide input to the forthcoming review of the Local Plan.
“The most likely direction of future expansion is west, and that takes you over the local authority border and into Wiltshire. Swindon and Wiltshire councils will have to work more closely together. A joint plan is what is now required.”
Mr Durrant conceded that there may be political opposition to Swindon growing further to the west. “Local councillors will not want their villages to be swallowed up by the urban sprawl of Swindon,” he said.
The Chamber called on the members of the business community to contact them with their own needs and desires towards economic growth.
Mr Durrant said: “The is our chance to flag up issues at a very early stage of the review process. Should Swindon continue to grow? Do we have the infrastructure to support population and economic growth? Do we need a Junction 16a on the M4?
“Our biggest employers – who we cannot afford to lose – and prospective employers – those we are trying to attract – tell us they need executive housing, which is in short supply in the borough, quality leisure and retail provision, better transport links between the large employment centres and the town centre, better parking provision in the town centre, and better educational facilities.”
He said the Chamber would be pushing for a review as soon as the Local Plan is adopted. Swindon Borough Council was aware of the need for a review, he said, and the Inspector had given the authority 12 months to hold the review.
Anyone who wants to comment on likely business issues to be addressed by the review of the plan can do so via Clair Prosser, policy executive at Swindon Chamber of Commerce, at ClairProsser@tvchamber.co.uk
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WHAT THE INSPECTOR SAID The inspector’s 96-page report – published on February 5 following a three-week public consultation at STEAM last year – notes that Swindon’s population is forecast to increase from 204,2000 in 2011 to a shade under quarter of a million in 2026. A further 22,000 homes will need to be built to accommodate the growing population. Around three quarters will be built at five major sites: Wichelstowe (4,500), Tadpole Farm (1,695), Kingsdown (1,650), New Eastern Villages (8,000) and Commonhead (890). The report also notes that the Plan forecast a base of 10,400 extra jobs over the period, rising to 19,600 new jobs with favourable economic conditions, especially in the sectors of logistics and distribution, with Swindon’s proximity to the M4 and the M5 – via the A417/419 – proving attractive to logistics companies. The inspector wrote: “Swindon has a strong track record of attracting economic development. “The high level scenario was considered to be aspirational but achievable, and has since been seen to be in line with improving economic conditions and national economic forecasts. “It was also evident at the Hearings that the forecasts were seen to be realistic for Swindon by the business community, including the Swindon Chamber of Commerce and the LEP.” He also noted: “Some respondents considered that there was a need for further flexibility in the supply of employment land, especially along the M4 corridor, without which opportunities for inward investment could be stifled.” On retail, he wrote: “There was general agreement at the Hearing that Swindon town centre was under-performing in retail terms, and that it was experiencing ‘leakage’ to out-of-town shopping centres and to competing towns. “Policy SC1 aims to claw back some of this lost trade, and it makes provision for at least 53,700 sq m of net comparison goods retail floorspace in the town centre Primary Shopping Area.” And on office provision, he said: “Policy SC1 makes provision for 90,000 sq m of B1 office space in the town centre over the period to 2026. “This is based on regeneration evidence, which sees offices as a key growth sector, with around 4,500 jobs created over the plan period. “A number of serious schemes are being progressed towards implementation, together with cultural schemes and a new bus station. Most of this development is proposed for the Commercial Quarter, and it now has planning permission. “The Council’s plans are justified, with a strong likelihood of delivery.” The inspector’s report can be viewed online at http://www.swindon.gov.uk/ep/Environment%20Document%20Library/Information%20-%20Local%20Plan%20-%20Inspectors%20Report.pdf |
