Ridgeway Farm Phase 2 plans inadequate says residents' association

SHAW Residents' Association has highlighted what they say is the continuing inadequacy of the plans for the 700 home Ridgeway Farm development which is being built on the edge of West Swindon, but on land which Wiltshire Council has planning authority for.

The overall project was won after a planning appeal against Wiltshire by housing developers Taylor Wimpey, but the detailed plans have continued to cause controversy. The SRA have pointed out a whole range of problems since the first plans were submitted, not least the fact that the main spine road through the development is not wide enough to carry the expected volume of traffic into and out of Swindon.

Furthermore over 50 houses front onto the road which means residents' pulling in and out of driveways, and the liklihood of on-street parking which will reduce traffic flow and potentially cause safety problems.

Now Taylor Wimpey have submitted proposals for the second phase of the development and the SRA have again picked through the plans and found objections from two major agencies.

The association's website points out the Environment Agency objection to the application on the grounds that Taylor Wimpey have failed to include surface water drainage management in the application. They appear to have recycled micro-drainage calculations used in the phase one application and have failed to demonstrate the development will not contribute to an increased flood risk.

Wiltshire Highways have also lodged objection on the grounds that advice given by the highways department at the pre-application stage has not been taken into account. The highway authority expresses concerns that a full safety audit has not yet been carried out by Taylor Wimpey with regard to the site of the central square area which is close to the Ridgeway Farm primary school.

Kevin Fisher, chair of Shaw Residents' Association said: "The SRA has been consistent in our views that insufficient road widths, lack of parking spaces and a shared space will result in travel chaos for both Ridgeway Farm residents and drivers needing to get to and from villages such as Purton, Cricklade and Lydiard Millicent.

"Reviewing all the road and parking related issues, it would seem Taylor Wimpey not only rejects our views but pours scorn on them by issuing plans that seem at best cynical.

"Whilst we accept that design work for such developments is complex and some mistakes or oversights are likely, the nature of many issues highlighted by the environment agency and Wiltshire highways appears to indicate one of two things: either this developer does not have the skill sets necessary for such large scale developments or they have an arrogant and flagrant disregard for the quality of life of its own clients and surrounding communities."

Read the SRA's full appraisal of the planning application.

See details of Taylor Wimpey homes at Ridgeway Farm

Pictured top, SRA chair Kevin Fisher in January 2014, soon after work had started on the Ridgeway Farm development. Below, close to the same spot, in January 2015, the spine road and some of the first houses on the 700 home development