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Wiltshire Updates

Plans for 300 homes approved for Swindon

12/13/2018

An application to build up to 300 homes close to J15 of the M4 at Swindon have been approved. The scheme by Persimmon Homes and Redrow Homes, via agent Pegasus, forms phase three of the Badbury Park housing development where hundreds more are already under construction. Swindon Borough Council’s planning committee approved the scheme at its meeting on Tuesday, December 11. The 15.03-hectare site had been designated an employment site where a science park had been proposed but the meeting
Swindon's £270m North Star complex to start next year

11/28/2018

Work on a long-awaited £270 million leisure centre in Swindon could start next Spring after the design for its first phase was approved by the council’s planning committee. SevenCapital (Swindon North) Ltd, won outline consent a year ago for the scheme which will comprise 500,000 sq ft of retail, dining and leisure, including one of the UK’s largest ski and snow centres which will have two real snow indoor ski slopes. It will also house a 13-screen cinema, including Europe’s largest IMAX
Zurich plans move to Swindon's troubled Kimmerfields site

11/23/2018

Zurich Insurance, one of Swindon’s major employers, is in talks with the council and Homes England over a move to the nearby Kimmerfields regeneration site. The insurer has had a major presence in the town centre for more than 30 years and is interested in developing new state-of-the-art offices. The planned mixed-use scheme on the 20-acre Kimmerfields site, just yards from Zurich’s current offices, has been dogged with delays and controversy for over a decade. Cllr Dale Heenan, Swindon
Innovation theme at Swindon & Wiltshire summit

10/18/2018

Development of a flying car was explained to delegates at the annual growth summit in Wiltshire. The Swindon & Wiltshire Business Growth Summit, organised by the Swindon & Wiltshire LEP (SWLEP), saw the UK launch of the Parajet Xplorer Sky Quad, a new hybrid adventure vehicle. Gilo Cardozo, founder and chief executive of the manufacturer, Gilo Industries, explained his own journey from leaving school early to leading one of the UK's most innovative aviation companies. The meeting, at
Forward Swindon merged into council

10/16/2018

Swindon’s regeneration company is to be merged into the council's economy team. Forward Swindon Ltd (FSL) has been working alongside Swindon Borough Council’s economy team since the start of the year and now FSL chief executive Simon Brigden is to leave and the two teams merge. The announcement came after a FSL board meeting on Friday, October 12. FSL is already owned by the council but has operated at arms length and had its own board and a mandate to drive some of the town's key regeneration
Last chance to comment on Swindon Science Park proposals

09/13/2018

The public has had its first glimpse of proposals for a new 59,190 sq m science park at Swindon - and there is a few days left for comments. Wasdell Group, which makes packaging and logistics for the pharmaceutical industry, has drawn up plans for new premises for its own manufacturing base (Wasdell Packaging) along with further units for other high-tech manufacturers. It will be known as Swindon Science Park. The proposed site is 40.3-hectare Inlands Farm, Wanborough, between The Marsh and
Developer wanted for Swindon tower block

09/03/2018

A key town centre site in Swindon is in need of a developer. The former Aspen House office site has permission for 118 one and two bedroom flats which could be up to 13 storeys high. The site is also considered suitable for commercial development such as a hotel. Swindon Borough Council hopes the development will enhance the town centre near the cenotaph. Cllr Garry Perkins, cabinet member for the town centre, said: “This is a very exciting project and we are keen to work with developers to
A chance to pick the best in the region

08/06/2018

Fifteen key players in the development of the Thames Valley will go forward for three new prizes next month – and no-one has any idea who will win. In a first for the region, the winners of a new set of awards will be decided by a vote by those present at the evening of the Thames Valley Property Festival (TvPropFest) on September 13. Each award is for an individual rather than a scheme, deal or project. Last month a panel of partners of the Thames Tap and UK Property Forums gathered at The
400 homes planned for Swindon sidings

07/16/2018

Plans are being drawn up for around 400 homes on former railway land at Swindon. Planners at Turley, on behalf of One Swindon Ltd, have sought a screening opinion over the need for an environmental impact assessment, from Swindon Borough Council over plans for both open market and affordable homes on land between Wootton Bassett Road and Park Lane, Rodbourne. The area, a long stretch of former sidings, part of the former Great Western Railway Works which closed in the 1980s, runs behind homes
Top names in line up for TvPropFest

06/20/2018

BBC business journalist Tanya Beckett will interview one of the key figures driving radical plans for Reading’s new cultural quarter at the first Thames Valley Property Festival (TvPropFest). The interview - with Sally Swift, director of Theatre & Arts Reading - will be among the highlights of a day of walks, talks, awards and music, celebrating some of the most exciting property developments in the region and discussing many of the concerns in the rapidly-evolving industry. There will also be
2,800 homes refused on appeal

06/14/2018

Planning applications for a total of 2,800 homes in Swindon have been refused on appeal. Ainscough Strategic Land had been refused permission for 2,600 and 200 homes at Lotmead Farm, in June 2016. The schemes were part of the town’s New Eastern Villages development. The council’s refusals were on the grounds of insufficient basic infrastructure including schools and transport links, as well as not adequately addressing issues of noise, flooding and drainage. Ainscough appealed the decisions
New format for region's top property event

05/03/2018

The region’s top property event has been given a new expanded format with awards for the top industry leaders. The annual Thames Valley Property Forum, which has grown into a landmark event in property circles, will this year become TVPropFest, an all-day festival based on four key themes of walks, talks, awards and music. The traditional speakers and panel debates will still form part of the day but a choice of carefully planned walks, live music and an awards dinner, at which former home
112-bed Hampton by Hilton plan for Swindon

01/30/2018

Turley has submitted plans which will incorporate Grade ll listed buildings into a new 112-bedroom hotel for Swindon. Acting for developer Ridgevale Estates, Turley proposed a new scheme for a Hampton by Hilton hotel on the former Paragon Laundry site at the junction of Station Road and Aylesbury Street. It is a refinement of a previous scheme, launched around the time of the last recession and which has permisison, but which did not progress. The new scheme, as previously, is for a six-storey