New message to Borough Councillors ref Pilgrim Close homes

02 October 2018

The following email was sent to Cllrs Williams, Martin and Martin: Dear Shaw Borough Councillors As Parish Councillors you completely agreed with the SRA position of more parking spaces, not less, being required on the site, and that the dropped curbs from the path leading from Old Shaw Lane and George Tweed Gardens be protected. As Borough Councillors, you have the power to insist on these changes. It is rather surprising that you seem to have two different views dependant upon the hat you wear. Attached you will find two photo’s taken on the 27 September 2018 of a Richard James car partially blocking the dropped curb at the end of the path leading from Old Shaw Lane. At the time the gravel parking spaces (many of which you and your officers plan to remove) were all taken, and the spaces behind the church were also all taken. Should you allow your officers to go ahead with this application in its current form, two things are certain: 1. The dropped curbs will be blocked routinely. This will not just be an inconvenience for people with mobility scooters, parents with children in buggies and partially sighted people, it will most likely make it impossible to get across the road since cars will be parked the full length of it 2. Emergency vehicle access to George Tweed Gardens will be hindered Furthermore, to suggest that the pub car park could be used to relieve parking congestion at the village Centre in your recent political flyer suggests a lack of local understanding of the area and of many peoples driving / parking habits. This issue is in your control to fix and therefore, if it is not, when the problems described above become reality, you will have to carry the burden of knowing you could have prevented them.

SBC officers ignore SRA and parish council

10 September 2018

SBC officers have revised the plans for the Pilgrim Close homes (see articles below) but, in so doing, have completely ignored the comments from the SRA which were replicated (and therefore agreed) by West Swindon Parish Council.

This is not a third party developer making these proposals, it is SBC and it is SBC who is effectively marking its own homework. If we cannot get higher standards from our own council in planning applications, what hope do any of us have when big developers bulldoze their way through!

Click here for our written response

Message from West Swindon Parish Council

16 September 2018

New Play Areas Coming Soon – West Swindon Parish Council is planning a major refurbishment of 4 play areas in West Swindon including Middleleaze play area behind the Saltway Centre, Claypits Junior play area off Cartwright Drive and Clayhill Copse. To find out more please drop in to the Brookhouse Farm pub on Wednesday 19 Sept 2018, 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm, or visit their website www.westswindon-pc.gov.uk

Link Magazine Article

23 August 2018

The latest issue of the Link magazine that has, or is about to, drop through your letter boxes contains an article describing the ‘last 75 years’ booklet. The article contains two errors: 1. It states Kevin is “a trustee at Lydiard Park” – He is not, He is a trustee of the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust 2. It states that “Lydiard Park is currently owned by Swindon Borough Council and managed by Lydiard Park Heritage Trust” – it is managed by Swindon Borough Council The online version has been corrected and can be read here 

Lydiard Park – the last 75 years

the significant events that saved and restored the House and Park

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Swindon Corporation (now Swindon Borough Council) buying Lydiard House and Park in 1943. To mark the occasion the chair if this association, Kevin Fisher, has written an historical book called “Lydiard Park – the last 75 years – the significant events that saved and restored the House and Park”. It is available to download for free! Click here to go to the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust website for more information

Free Family fun Day – for residents of West Swindon

23 July 2018

every Wednesday in August from 1st to 29th between 10.00 and 12.00

The West Swindon library at the Link Centre is offering a weekly activity for children who live in West Swindon and aged 12 and under. Each week there will be story time at 10.00 am followed by a number of activities based on dinosaurs, magic, nature and outer space. Children attending will need to be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event. It is a free drop in session and you do not need to book.

Planning applications for Sparcells and Shaw

15 May 2018

emails sent to Shaw Borough Councillors Dear Shaw Borough Councillors I write to you in my capacity as the chair of the Shaw Residents’ Association with respect to the Shaw and Sparcells planning applications, S/18/0461 and S/18/0460 respectively. For the reasons outlined below, I ask that in your capacities as borough Councillors, you call both these applications in so they can be heard by the planning committee and not be allowed to be decided by planning officers under delegated authority. Both applications have received criticisms on a number of issues which include the lack of parking and, in the case of the Sparcells application, the totally unacceptable loss of a toddlers play area. I have attached the SRA objections to this email for your convenience. I also note that, in your capacities as parish councillors, you have also objected to these applications on similar grounds to the SRA objections. Given that the organisation that owns the land, the organisation applying for planning permission, the organisation with the powers to approve planning permission and the organisation that will reap the financial rewards from the sale of the properties, is the same organisation, e.g. SBC, in all cases, we believe there must be additional transparency added to the process. We believe that transparency can be served by having the full planning committee involved in the process in a meeting that is open to the public to both observe and contribute through the normal mechanisms used for planning applications that are decided in this way. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards Kevin Fisher Shaw Residents’ Association – Chair Followed up with: I am now aware that the parish has requested the applications are pulled in. However, given that parish councillors can only request applications to be called in and Borough Councillors can insist applications are called in, I wonder why one of you does not simply put on a different hat and just make it happen. I also wonder why the organisation that owns the land, has proposed the developments, will approve the developments and reaps the financial gains from the developments does not simple nullify the applications and start again. Its not like it will go to appeal is it. The logic of it all mystifies me. 21 April 2018 Click here for the SRA response to the Sparcells application 16 April 2018

Click here for the SRA letter to West Swindon Parish Council ref both applications

Click here for the SRA response to the Shaw application

Swindon Borough Council unilaterally abandons plans to transfer operational and management control of Lydiard Park to the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust

16 February 2018

After a 2.5 year outsourcing process Swindon Borough Council have unilaterally decided to abandon plans to transfer operational and management control of Lydiard Park to the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust and bring the process to an end. Their decision leaves Lydiard without an effective management team and at grave risk. Despite publically acknowledging they do not have the skills and experience to run such an important heritage asset, the Council has rejected the sustainable future offered by the charitable Trust.  The legal advice the Council used to justify their decision to the Trust, results from their own inaccurate disclosures made to all bidders in 2015/6, and suggests that the process was fatally flawed from the outset.

Joint Statement for the protection of the ‘essential setting’ of Lydiard Park

25 January 2018

For many years speculative developers have attempted to gain planning permission for housing developments within the parks ‘essential setting’. The most recent attempt by Taylor Wimpey resulted in over 600 letters of objection from members of the public along with objections from community groups and statutory organisations. The outcry was so powerful that Taylor Wimpey withdrew their application just a few weeks before the scheduled target decision date. Local authority officers must refer to policy and law in their decision making process for planning applications. Developers will invest proportionally greater resources in finding gaps in those policies and laws, which is why so many refused applications are won by developers at appeal. We believe it is time, through local plans, tools available within the national planning policy framework, and by creating a conservation management plan, that the representative policies for Lydiard Park are strengthened. And, in so doing make it clear to any would-be developer that their chances of winning at appeal are very slender indeed, no matter how deep their pockets. Furthermore, the designated essential setting identifies the minimum area required to protect the registered landscape. Our belief is that the area bordered by the M4 to the south, Hook to the west, Lydiard Millicent to the north and the existing urbanisation of Swindon to the east, should be protected from any further residential development or any other development which is unsympathetic to the character of the Historic Park, Garden, House and Church. Not only will that maintain the rural context of the grade II listed park for future generations, it will also serve to protect the small village identities of Hook and Lydiard Millicent. Click here to download the joint statementClick here for the letter sent to the CEO’s and Leaders of Wiltshire and Swindon Councils

Correspondence resulting from the above letter

Wiltshire Council emails and SRA responses (updated 9 Feb 2018) – click here Swindon Council emails and SRA responses (updated 2 Feb 2018) – click here Letter from Mr Renard and Mr Gilbert of SBC received 2 Feb 2018 – click here

SRA requests Parish Council action to improve the maintenance regime for Shaw village centre

24 January 2018

For many years we have worked hard to provide some degree of maintenance to the shrubs within the Shaw Village Centre and, at the same time, keep the area free from litter. We have struggled to get any support (in terms of actually helping) from the businesses that operate from the centre and have always hit a dead end when trying to understand the ownership split between SBC and the tenants maintenance contract. As a result it has been impossible to challenge the service level agreement set up between SBC and now West Swindon Parish Council and its grounds maintenance contractor. With the help of Cllr Keith Williams, we now have a clear map detailing organisation responsibilities. Since Keith is also by chance the chair of the Parish’s planning and environment committee, we have written to him detailing the work and agreements that are, in our opinion, required to bring the village centre up to a decent standard. The letter is available for download by clicking here. We will post updates to this website as they occur.

Due diligence period for Lydiard Park Heritage Trust extended

23 November 2017

The talks between SBC and the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust over the future running of Lydiard Park have been ongoing since March of this year. Although discussions have gone well, further work needs to be undertaken on the condition survey of the building and the future of the conference facilities. The due diligence period has therefore been extended to February 2018 to allow an agreement to be reached that suits both parties.

Why the Essential Setting of Lydiard Park must be protected from all developments

13 March 2017

Kevin Fisher, chair of the SRA writes “we have a responsibility to maintain the Heritage of Lydiard Park, which includes its rural character, for many generations to come. To do that, the rules for development within the Essential Setting need to be clear: all must be refused”. To read the full story and background to this opinion either:

1. click here to be taken to the Link Magazine website where the report has been published in full
2. click here to download the report as a pdf file

Mead Way improvements announced by Swindon Borough Council

31 October 2017

Below is the text posted by SBC: We have received confirmation that Swindon Borough Council has been successful in our bid to the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund for the Mead Way Junction Improvements scheme. The total in grant from the Department for Transport is £2.53 million and this will be matched by £1.5 million in S106 contribution that is already held by the Council for improvements on Mead Way. Funding is already allocated so that we can proceed with the detailed design of the scheme straight away.  The aim will be to hold a public consultation on the scheme design options in Summer 2018, and to commence construction in late 2018.  The bulk of construction work will be undertaken during 2019, with a completion date target of August 2019. The scheme comprises junction improvements at the south-eastern end of Mead Way, and will involve the widening of Mead Way between Meads Roundabout and Withymead Roundabout to provide additional capacity, and the re-modelling of Westmead Roundabout to reduce queuing back from this junction onto Great Western Way. The bid was supported by the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, and by both of Swindon’s Members of Parliament.

Application to build 81 house on land opposite Moulden View

4 October 2017

SRA objection sent – click here to read it Yet more houses on land between West and North Swindon. The developers are back with a proposal to Wiltshire Council for 81 dwellings opposite the recently built Moulden View development – to the north of Purton Road in the dip past the railway line. And again, because the site is in Wiltshire, the developers play on its location within Purton Parish area and downplay the fact that this in effect an extension of Swindon with all the consequent pressures it will bring, not least the impact on traffic flows within West and North Swindon. The SRA believes this application must be resisted for the following reasons:

1. It is not part of Swindon or Wiltshire Local plans, and it is not part of Purton’s neighbourhood plan
2. We believe the junction onto Purton road will add dangers to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists
3. The additional traffic entering and leaving the site would create even more rush-hour chaos
4. If built, it would destroy forever the possibility of a railway station from West Swindon into the town centre
5. The field floods
6. The current public footpath that runs along the north of Purton road will be disrupted

For more information, click here.

Application to build four executive houses within the essential setting of Lydiard Park

3 October 2017

Permission refused, click here to read the SBC reportClick here for the full delegated report

Brook Cottage Objections – click on the relevant line to read the paper

• Shaw Residents’ Association
• The Gardens Trust
• the Friends of Lydiard Park
• the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust
• SBC Conservation Officer
• SBC planning policy officer (comment)
• West Swindon Parish Council
• Lydiard Millicent Parish Council
• Historic England

SRA issues request to all SBC Councillors ref Brook Cottage application

To apply the ‘unequivocal objection’ they all signed up to with respect to the Taylor Wimpey application to this Brook Cottage application – click here to read the document

Brook Cottage planning application

16 August 2017

The owner of Brook Cottage has applied to build four very large houses (4+ bedrooms) on land to the left as you enter Lydiard Park from Hay Lane. This land is within the essential setting of Lydiard Park and will, should the application be allowed, set a precedent that may allow other developers to build within it. If you believe Lydiard Park’s rural identity must be saved for future generations, you need to object now to this application. Want to know what the ‘essential setting’ is and why it is so important to protect it from all development no matter how small or large?  – click here to download a background paper. To view the application, click here to be taken to the SBC planning application portal, and type S/16/1832 into the search box. The applicants ‘planning design and access statement’ (found at the SBC portal noted above) states that the ‘harm caused will be minimal’ (page 10). The report clearly recognises that the development will cause harm to the heritage of the registered Park but determines that the high trees surrounding the site are sufficient to allow the application. There are several issues with this supposition:

1. The houses will be visible from the dam wall within the registered Park
2. Trees die and get blown down
3. Once the new residents realise what great views they can have and how much more light they can enjoy, they will cut them down
4. Harm caused to an essential setting is NOT just visual. In a recent high Court case (Steer v SSCLG) a judge ruled that an Inspector had used an artificially narrow approach (visual only) to the issue of ‘setting’ and in adopting this approach had made an error of law

Lydiard Parks essential setting MUST be protected – if one development is allowed, more will follow and more after that – the domino affect of precedents. If you believe Lydiard Park’s rural identity must be saved for future generations, you must object to this application without delay and certainly by the 15th September!

Determination deadline is 3 October 2017

How to view the application

To view the application, click here to be taken to the SBC planning application portal, and type S/16/1832 into the search box.

Three options for registering your comments

1. When viewing the application in the SBC portal you can register your comments by clicking the ‘make a public comment’ button

• Please note you must login / register yourself (top tabs on the page) before the button becomes visible

2.  Send an email direct to the planners

• sbcdc@swindon.gov.uk
• You must provide the S/16/1832 reference in your email together with your name and address, otherwise your comments will not be registered
• You must provide the S/16/1832 reference in your email together with your name and address, otherwise your comments will not be registered

3. Write to the case officer, Sarah Smith at Civic Offices Euclid Street Swindon Wiltshire, SN1 2JH.

Small development proposals in West Swindon

22 March 2017

Sparcells: The site of the old community hut and car park is being looked at by SBC for about five houses. Shaw: The green off Pilgrim Close behind Tesco (between George Tweed Gardens and the Ridge Green Medical Practice) is being assessed by SBC for 12-14 assisted living bungalows.

Lydiard Park Heritage Trust named as recommended preferred bidder

7 March 2017

Excellent news!! The LPHT has been recommended by the bid assessment team to be the community group to take on the management of Lydiard Park. Full details can be found on their website (which also provides links to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Swindon Advertiser story here and The Swindonian here and the Link magazine here.

Brook Cottage, Lydiard Park application invalidated

16 February 2017

The SRA chair (Kevin Fisher) sent an email to the SBC development manager on 14th February asking the following: How has this application been publicised?

1. Which lampposts have had an application posted and when were they put up?
2. How many neighbours have been consulted?
3. Which statutory bodies have been consulted (Historic England? The Gardens Trust?)
4. Have any adverts been put in local media?
5. Any other information you can provide to show that this application has received the right publicity would be most welcome.

In the light of a negative response to my requests above, may I ask for the deadline for comments to be extended by one month please? A reply was received from Andy Brown of SBC on 16 February. It reads: Dear Kevin, thanks for your email.

• I am writing to advise you that after sending out the initial neighbour consultations we have concluded that additional information should have been submitted with the application and as a result we have invalidated the application.
• What that means is that once we are satisfied that we have all the information to proceed, we will recommence the consultation process again, as if from scratch.
• The public notices had not yet been published in the newspaper (it would have been this Friday) nor have the associated site notices posted. This will take place once the application is considered valid, along with any other consultations and re consultations.
• You may have noticed that the application can no longer be viewed online and this is because it is no longer a current submission.
• I hope this explains the position and I can advise that we can’t action anything further on this proposal until the application becomes live again.

New application to build within the Essential Setting of Lydiard Park

15 February 2017

The owner of Brook Cottage (the property on the left as you enter Lydiard from Hay Lane) has put in an application to build four HUGE executive houses. The application can be found by clicking here. Please register your objection when you do. As with the (withdrawn) Taylor Wimpey application, which saw an unprecedented number of objections from individuals, statutory bodies and experts, this one is yet again within the ‘essential setting’ of Lydiard Park and sits right against the Historic England boundary. Whilst Taylor Wimpey wanted 48 houses and this is four, the reasons to object are very similar. Lydiard Park is a significant community asset. This application, for what can only be described as huge houses, will harm the historic, rural environment and will be visible from the Dam Wall within the Park and Church Drive. Furthermore, should future owners of the homes choose to remove the hedgerow in order to improve their personal view, it will be visible from many other vantage points around St Mary’s Church and Coach House. Lydiard Park is a special place. It is our Heritage. Developers are attacking it from so many directions in pursuit of financial gain at the expense of the social value provided by well preserved heritage sites. Should this application be allowed, it will set a precedent for other speculative opportunists. I am sure Taylor Wimpey are watching this very closely and waiting to pounce.

Mannington roundabout improvements consultation

22 January 2017

As part of a larger project to improve the bus corridor between Wichelstowe and the town centre, improvements to Mannington roundabout are being proposed. This SBC website provides a description of the existing problem at Mannington and two options to fix it. It also provides the dates for consultations.

Purton Parish Council approve draft Neighbourhood Plan

19 January 2017

The plan is now available for public consultation. There are two planned events, 25th January 5-8pm and 5th February  2.30-5.30pm. Full details including the plan itself are available on the Purton Parish Council website

BT phone box removal recommendations

18 January 2017

Ward councillors have commented on each of the proposed removals of up to 44 BT call boxes. Click here to view the recommendations. 

BT plan to remove 44 payphones across Swindon

25 October 2016

• Click here for the list of payphones to be removed
• Click here for details on how you can comment

M4 Junction 16 Improvement Works

16 October 2016

Work to transform Junction 16 of the M4 will start in winter 2016 to ensure the major highway interchange can cope with forecast future traffic levels and cater for future development in the surrounding areas. Click here for more information.

SRA comments on stage 2 of the governance review

28 July 2016 In view of the small number of people who’ve responded to the consultation and the fact that there is no evidence of a community request from non parished areas, we believe that to proceed would be undemocratic. The SRA therefore maintains its position that Swindon Borough Council does not have a mandate to continue. However, should SBC choose to ignore this opinion, we believe it would make sense to start with one big parish and then, if there’s a popular appetite, divide it up over the coming years. Such a scenario would also preserve at least some of the economies of scale currently enjoyed by the Borough. It would also minimise the additional administrative burden the creation of several new parishes would place on the tax payer. Specifically, given that there is no petition or demonstrable public request for a West Swindon parish, we suggest it is more democratic to include West Swindon in the aforementioned central parish until such point in time that a public petition exists requesting it to become separate.

West Swindon Open Gardens

23 June 2016 Many thanks to all of you that supported this event. We raised £1680 for SMASH and CALM – click here for more

SRA supports proposed dog control order for Lydiard Park

13 May 2016 Swindon Borough Council is proposing a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) at Lydiard Park in Swindon regarding dog control at the park. The SRA is supportive of this proposal as it appears to balance well the needs of all users. The main part of the order focuses on keeping dogs on leads at peak times of the year in the busiest area of the Park. Dogs will continue to be allowed off lead in the majority of the Park. The proposed area affected includes the main lawn, sports field, BBQ/Picnic field, car parks and outside the visitors centre and café. This area comprises approximately 26% of the Park.  The order would only apply between 1st April to the 30th September inclusive and between the times of 10:00 to 18:00. The second part excludes dogs from the small fully enclosed Walled Garden and area known as the Rick Yard. Dogs have never been allowed in these areas due to the heritage plant collection. No part of this order applies to registered assistance dogs.

• The online survey is here www.swindon.gov.uk/lydiardpspo
• Click here for the text of the order

Green Belt under siege – CPRE report

8 May 2016 The Campaign to Protect Rural England says “Last year’s report showed that 220,000 houses were planned for the Green Belt across England. This new report shows that this number has now reached 275,000. Government claims that it is committed to protecting the Green Belt are not being backed up in practice, and our report sends a clear message that greater protection for the Green Belt is needed” click here for their full report

SRA Response to the parish (governance) consultation

20 March 2016 click here to download the full text as a pdf The Shaw Residents’ Association response to the consultation on the future of parish councils in the Borough of Swindon raises more questions than it does views and opinions. We are struggling to provide concise feedback simply because the ‘consultation’ is taking place without a focussed set of questions for non-parished areas. Clearly parishes could bring both positives and negatives to communities, but since no scope has been provided to the consultation, we are not in a position to make an informed judgement within our feedback. For example, we have not been provided with a list of services a parished Shaw ward would own; indeed we do not know where the boundaries would be drawn. Clearly there is no such thing as a free lunch and yet there are no details in the consultation on estimated precepts or indeed the costs associated with the additional administration a parish would require. Are we to assume that SBC, like many other councils, have the prime intent of using the unrestricted parish precept loophole to expand their funding indirectly? Could services owned by a parish be more or less efficient (in terms of cost) than when owned by the Borough? Given that for most industries economies of scale bring greater cost efficiencies and not the other way around, it seems clear to us that if a parish can indeed bring down the cost of such services, then those services must be suffering from massive inefficiencies in the way they are managed today. The consultation also appears to have focused on one part of a much bigger picture. It fails to provide any insight into where a 100% parished Borough of Swindon will lead for its residents. It is clear to us that ‘localism’ is not what is driving the agenda, but rather it is an excuse for the agenda. We need to know what is the end goal and motivation for the initiative. Is it simply just to raise more taxes, is it to shut down SBC and merge it with Wiltshire County Council or is there some other end goal in mind? To ask a population to give feedback on one small part of a bigger project plan for a potentially much bigger long term goal is just not acceptable. We have the opinion that SBC is following a process of change by stealth rather than change by consensus. As noted at the start of our comments, we have more questions than we do opinions. For example:

1. We believe that the level of understanding and engagement within the community in political initiatives is generally low and so therefore the understanding and interest of what a ‘parish council’ is will be very poor. As a case in point, the Stratton St Margaret (which is a parish) referendum had only 7.8% turnout. To make such a huge change in the governance of Swindon based on the ‘silence equals approval’ concept is simply unacceptable
2. There are already too many unknowns to enable a proper consultation, for example:  What will be the responsibilities of the parish? How many parish councillors will be needed? Will there be a significant reduction in borough councillors as a result? How much will the precept be and will council tax reduce the same amount? Will parish council precepts be capped in the same way as council tax?
3. We do not know exactly what the likely boundaries between parish councils will be. If the Parish precept is calculated on property bands, there are bound to be ‘have’ and ‘have not’ Parishes.  Would parish councils reflect existing communities?  Would Parish boundaries cross Ward boundaries?  It is much harder to define communities in large urban areas such as Swindon and therefore how can parishes work in such an environment? Isn’t it the Boundary Commission that defines boundaries anyway?
4. What is the question in the consultation for non-parished wards? It cannot be demonstrated that there is a clear pull from the constituents unless the flawed approach of silence means approval is taken. The massive no vote in Stratton to expansion of the parishes role is a clear indication of those residents’ views of parish council expansion
5. Will there be enough volunteers to become parish councillors or will borough councillors have to wear two hats? Where there are volunteers, will they likely pull from one set of demographics – e.g. retired middle class – therefore how can they be representative of the parish?
6. We believe it will add administrative cost when we should be working smarter. Economies scale with size – for example, it cannot be smarter to pay one person to cut one side of a playing field and another the other side, if that is where the boundaries fall
7. The role of residents associations, such as the SRA, would become questionable. Why would we need Borough councillors, parish councillors (who are volunteers) and residents associations (who are volunteers) all representing the same people? We fear parishes will switch many volunteer hours away from community activities onto administrative overheads
8. If all of Swindon is parished it seems logical that the statutory part that is left would be under immense pressure to merge with Wiltshire. If that is indeed the intended or unintended consequence of the venture, then Swindon’s residents must be given a much clearer choice

Messages from virgin media email are SPAM

6 January 2016 If you receive any emails from shaw-residents@virginmedia.com report them as spam. Our email address is shawresidents@outlook.com

Old Virgin Media email account compromised

5 December 2015 –

A message from Kevin Fisher The old Virgin Media email account used by the SRA was deleted some months ago in favour of the new outlook account to be found on this website. Unfortunately it would seem Virgin Media did not actually delete the account when I closed it down and it has now been compromised and spam emails are being sent from it. Please list all emails from shaw-residents@virginmedia.com as spam and DO NOT open them. The problem can only be fixed by Virgin Media as the account simply does not exist to me anymore. I cannot access it to change / delete anything. I have spent a few hours on the phone to various people in Virgin Media and cannot get past the “it will take 5-7 business days for our IT department to do anything about it” statement (they also pointed out that “IT do not work at weekends and I have reported the problem on a Saturday”). I have told them that they appear to be in violation of the Data Protection Act, since deleting an account should result in the deletion of personal information and the account actually being deleted. That accusation seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Please accept my apologies should you receive any spam from the deleted Virgin Media email account. I am afraid all I can do is shout at Virgin Media, threaten to report them to the Data Commissioner for DP violations and seek negative press reports. Any questions, please email me at shawresidents@outlook.com

Lydiard House and park at risk

28 November 2015

Lydiard House and Park is  a unique and hugely valued heritage asset used by thousands of Swindon people and visitors to the town.  Swindon Borough Council is proposing to hand over the day to day management and control of Lydiard House and Park to an external commercial organisation which will seek to take profit from the site. Swindon Borough Council say they are doing this to eliminate Lydiard’s annual running cost.  The Friends of Lydiard Park believe this can be done without handing over the town’s ‘crown jewels’. Click here to sign the petition. Taylor Wimpey also wish to build on fields adjacent to Lydiard Park. Click here for more information.

Work to start on Swinley Drive Pedestrian Crossing

30 October 2015

Roadwork signs have been put up saying work will start on the 2 November for 10 days. It was the 6 November 2013 that we published, on this site, a link to a petition in support of the crossing.

Should Swindon be 100% parish councils?

20 October 2015

That is the proposal by the leader of the council David Renard – but what are the pros and cons. Click here for a Swindon Link article for more information about a public meeting.

Swinley Drive Pedestrian Crossing Update

5 August 2015

The work has been put out to tender and responses are due by the end of August. Work will start during October or November.

West Swindon Skate Park Open

24 July 2015

Having opened on the 13 July, a ‘skatejam’ has been organised by the park builders (Wheelscape) for 23 August from 12 to 3pm.

Swinley Drive Crossing Update

18 May 2015

The scheme is now with SBC’s Project Delivery Team and they are making the necessary preparations in respect of arranging the works. However, whilst there are no firm dates yet for the crossing itself, works are taking place in preparation for installing the school safety zone (flashing warning signs) which will be completed prior to the crossing installation.

SBC Local Plan Adopted

31 March 2015

The local plan is the planning policy document for SBC to take us up to 2026. Click here for more information.

Swinley Drive pedestrian crossing update

29 January 2015

It is now over one year since it was agreed to fund this crossing at the West Swindon Forum. This action was taken based on a petition completed in November 2013. The SRA can report that the project is at the detailed design stage which should be completed by the middle of February. Once done the work will be commissioned to third parties to complete the installation. Given that Southern Electric require eight weeks lead time to complete the work and white lining is weather dependent, we believe the crossing will be in by the summer at the latest, with a hope it may be completed in the spring. Click here for the plans.

Shaw Village Centre to get a small make-over

15 January 2015

Following many discussions with SBC officers and our own efforts in trying to maintain the Village Centre, we are pleased to announce the following program of work  for 2015:

1. Parking space relining will take place in the spring. Posters and information will be displayed nearer the time
2. Blossoming trees called Amelanchier Lamar will replace the missing trees at the front two beds by Tesco and the back two beds by the Village inn
3. More reeds will be planted to make the beds symmetrical
4. The vandalised railings will be repaired
5. The block paving around the trees and the circular seating will be repaired
6. The circular seating will be repaired and painted
7. The tree guards will be removed from around the trees by the church

The problem of the drainage from the pavilion housing the clock is being researched to see if the water from the roof can be re-routed in an affordable way.  However, this is likely to fall into next years budget.We will continue in our efforts to maintain and improve the landscaping throughout this year. Dates will be posted on this web site soon. Please come along and help.

Local Plan Modifications Consultation

23 September 2014

Following a detailed review of Swindon’s local plan 2026 the Inspector has issued a report requiring some very detailed modifications. The good news is he is not requiring any additional houses to be added to the plan. Click here for a Swindon Advertiser report on the subject. A letter from Phil Smith of SBC’s planning policy department can be downloaded by clicking here. It contains details on how to send comments which must be with him by 30th October 2014.

Swinley Drive Pedestrian Crossing Consultation

16 September 2014

A location closest to Peatmoor shops has been identified as the point with the highest footfall and highways officers are reviewing the options. Further consultation will now take place as follows:

• Tuesday 21st October, Woodlands Edge pub 5:30pm to 7:00pm – an opportunity for residents to discuss the options with our ward councillors.
• Monday 10th November, West Swindon Forum at the Link Library 7:00pm to 9:00pm.The Shaw Residents Association has for some time been asking for a pedestrian crossing on Swinley Drive. The design of the road, with its long sweeping double bend close to the point where children cross to get to school, makes crossing problematic. In 2012 a parent wrote to us describing the rules of crossing Swinley Drive during peak time were more akin to “listen, wait, wait, wait, guess, hope and run”. We welcome this initiative and hope the crossing will be built without any further delay. Of course Ridgeway Farm will significantly increase traffic on this road and we look forward to further consultations with our councillors on how the section 106 money allocated to this road will be spent.

Click here for a Swindon Advertiser article

Open Gardens – An Outstanding Year!

18 June 2014

From a participation and money raised point of view – an outstanding year! From a community participation and fun weekend for many point of view – an even more outstanding year. The total raised was £2213 with 322 adults and many children visiting fifteen open gardens across Shaw and Nine Elms. That is a 46% increase on the previous years record of 221 visitors and a 22% increase in money raised for two local charities – many thanks to those of you that helped make it happen! Quote from Rob Chappell – SMASH MD: “please be assured that we are incredibly grateful for your donation and for all the work that you put in on our behalf. We really do depend on funds and other support from the local community. Over the next year we hope to raise in excess of £200,000 from grants, donations and our own fund-raising efforts so you see we have a mountain to climb and it is not a journey we can make without support like yours. SMASH gives young people the chance to become everything they can be, sometimes when no one else believes that they can and by contributing to our charity you and everyone who came along to the open gardens weekend are now a part of all of their stories so on their behalf in particular, thank you”.

50 More Houses at Moredon Bridge Approved

10 May 2014

Despite the original Inquiry categorically stating that the plot of land must not be built on for environmental reasons, the developer applied to build on it anyway. The request went to appeal and, of course, the unelected planning Inspector approved the application highlighting that the environmentally sensitive land only represents 0.0047% of similar land within Wiltshire. If ever there was a decision that highlights the destruction of our natural environment by stealth, this is it. Oh, but the developer must make an environmental offset – in a school in Bradford on Avon – the logic is baffling to say the least. Of course the real day to day impact for West and North Swindon residents will be in yet more traffic negotiating the tricky junction in and out of this new, unplanned development. click here for the full reportLink Magazine article here

Wiltshire Launch Core Strategy Consultation

20 April 2014

In December 2013 the council received the 10^th procedural letter from the Inspector, which sought the views of the council on a number of matters. The council’s response has resulted in further ‘main’ and ‘minor’ proposed changes to the Wiltshire Core Strategy. The council has also proposed changes to the Wiltshire Core Strategy as a result of the responses received during the consultation that closed in October 2013. A further round of consultation will take place for six weeks from 9am Monday 14 April to 5pm Tuesday 27 May 2014 inclusive to give all interested parties the opportunity to comment on the following proposed modifications (changes) before the Inspector completes his report. Click here to visit the web page of proposed modifications

Library Strategy Consultation – SRA Comments

14 April 2014

Please visit our ‘issues and positions’ page to view our comments.

Skate Park to be Built at Rivermead

11 March 2014

Councillors at the 10 March West Swindon Forum agreed to proceed with construction at Rivermead which should start in June of this year.

Libraries Consultation

18 February 2014

Swindon Borough Council is consulting on its draft library strategy and is keen to hear all views. The draft library strategy can be read at: www.swindon.gov.uk/librarystrategy. Your views can be sent to Councillor Keith Williams, Library Strategy Consultation, Cabinet Office, Civic Offices, Euclid Street, SN1 2JH. The consultation will run until 5pm on Monday, 14 April 2014 and it is planned to present the outcome to the Council’s Cabinet in June, 2014. We plan to provide an SRA position on this subject, so if you wish to have an input into our contribution, please send us an email.

SBC Local Plan Pre-hearing

18 February 2014

A Pre Hearing Meeting is to be held on Tuesday 11^th March 2014 at 10.00am within STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon. The meeting will be entirely procedural in nature. There will be no discussion on the merits of the Plan or representations – these will be matters for the Hearing Sessions. A member of the SRA will be attending the meeting.

Library Consultation

14 February 2014

The following text was sent by the SRA in response to SBC’s consultation on libraries: Shaw Residents Association (SRA) has focussed its attention to commenting on the provision of library services through the Central Library, West Swindon Library and North Swindon Library at Orbital which is used by some of our residents. We have little direct contact with mobile library services and the services for home-bound/elderly – but we regard these as important services for society to provide through SBC. We understand the issue about the range of smaller east Swindon libraries but do not feel that we should comment specifically about these – only about the general provision and our local provision.

• SRA supports the provision of a strong and good library service – for leisure and broader educational reasons. We believe it is important that such a service is provided and that it is easy and convenient to access.
• SRA supports the broader range of services such as library-based book groups and ebook loans – and these should be continued and extended
• SRA supports the provision of the computer access and computer access education
• We note that access/staffing has been reduced in recent years and we do not support this – access to information should not only be ‘use the internet’
• SRA is concerned that with possible changes to the management of the Link Centre that the provision of the West Swindon Library will be impacted – this would be a real issue – the positioning of the library in the Leisure Centre is regarded as a good thing.
• The use of volunteers can help supplement core services but we are concerned that Swindon BC is moving library services to a ‘charity role’ – we believe that it should be a core service funded by the Council.

Moredon Bridge 50 Houses

17 January 2014

The developer has taken a two pronged approach to this application: Firstly they have launched an appeal on the grounds of non-determination of their original application. This appeal will be heard as a Public Inquiry on the 12 March in Chippenham and last about three days. Click here for more details. Secondly they put in a new identical application to Wiltshire Council. On the 8 January, the WCC planning committee rejected this application. Go to our Issues and Positions page for more on this subject.

7000 More Houses for Wiltshire

7 December 2013

On review of Wiltshire’s local plan for 37000 new houses, the unelected planning Inspector has told the council it is 7000 houses short – that is an almost 20% shortfall. The implications for West and North Swindon from this announcement could be huge. Pry farm, north of Ridgeway Farm (click here for a map) was allocated to be built on in the draft regional special strategy under Labour; it is not included in the new WCC local plan. However, with the Inspector demanding such a huge increase in housing allocation, could it be back on the plans? See BBC for story and click here for the Inspectors report. Related to this process, Purton have issued their parish plan – note Moredon Bridge and Ridgeway farm fall into the parish of Purton.

Moredon Bridge: Application for 50 More Houses Appeal

6 December 2013

SRA Response: The appeal is likely to be heard on March 2014 – click here for the SRA objection letter. Background A notice of appeal has been issued with a deadline of 2 January 2014 for comments to the Inspectorate. When the original 200 houses were won by the developer on appeal in 2009, the decision stated “details of a management plan to secure the protection and enhancement of the Bradley’s Meadow” shall be submitted – a clear statement that this nature conservation area should not be developed. However, Wainhomes subsequently decided to apply to build on the land and submitted an application for 50 more houses. Rather than rejecting the application, Wiltshire council chose to approve it on 24th April 2013, but through S106 contributions they required the developer to recreate the ecological site at a new location before destroying it. It would seem the developer does not want to be dealing with the recreation of the new ecological site and has issued a report explaining how they can be discharged of the obligation not to build on Bradley Meadow. As a result s106 negotiations have stalled and Wainhomes have issued an appeal on the grounds of ‘non determination’ thereby adding additional cost to the taxpayer by ask the planning Inspectorate to make the decision through yet another public Inquiry. At the same time, the developer has issued another duplicate application for the same 50 homes. For more details, click here for the Wiltshire Planning Web site documents or read the Link magazine article.

Bradon Forest School – Should it be Included in Swindon’s Catchment?

3 December 2013

Swindon is running out of secondary school places and so SBC have initiated a consultation. One option is to bring Braden Forest school back into Swindon’s catchment area. Whilst there are positives with this idea, the negatives mean even more buses ferrying children to Purton every day. If you  have an opinion, click here and complete the SBC consultation.

Widham Farm Purton – Proposed Housing Development Dismissed at Appeal

3 December 2013

It seems not all planning Inquiries result in a decision supporting the developer’s case. Widham Farm is on the edge of Purton and an application to build on it by a developer has been dismissed by the planning Inspector. Click here to read more.

Location of Skate Park in West Swindon

30 November 2013

Three options have been provided by SBC: Rivermead (near the Renault building), on top of Shaw Ridge and Salt Way School (though moved slightly from the original proposal). An informal meeting was held on the 27 November at the ATB skate park in Hawksworth industrial estate, between members of the SRA and the West Swindon skate community. The objectives of the meeting were to enable the airing of views and opinions, to put right misunderstandings and misconceptions and to see if there was enough common ground to enable a joint set of recommendations. The ten points below are a summary of the agreements:

• Of the three proposed sites it is believed that Rivermead will have the fewest objections from local people followed by Shaw Ridge and then Salt Way
• Future proofing the site is important and we believe Rivermead is the site best suited for potential expansion both from a physical and an objection by local people standpoint
• Salt Way has many local objectors who are only likely to be appeased if a security fence and restricted access is included in the plan
• Security fences will add significant up-front and long term maintenance cost thereby reducing the spend on the actual skate park
• Users of the facility do not want a security fence as the fence will hinder skaters and, unless opening times are maximised to available daylight seven days a week, a small minority are likely to find a way in regardless of whether it is locked or not
• If antisocial behaviour occurs it will be from non-skaters
• Antisocial behaviour, particularly after dark, is more likely in locations that are more accessible; therefore Shaw Ridge will be the most prone to this, followed by Salt Way and then Rivermead
• Should antisocial behaviour occur after dark, it is likely to result in the site being vandalised or littered with broken glass (or worse) – this will add considerable maintenance costs to the facility and may even result in it becoming unusable
• Both the SRA and members of West Swindon Skate community are keen for the facility to be built on a location that will have the least negative impact on local people, be future proofed from an expansion and maintenance cost standpoint and have the lowest probability of undesirable elements frequenting the facility after dark
• Both the SRA and members of West Swindon Skate community wish to see the facility built as quickly as possible and ideally be open for use by the summer of 2014

Based on all these points, of the three options, the SRA and members of West Swindon Skate community believe Rivermead to be the right location. Visit the Swindon skate board community Facebook page to see their views, the Link magazine for more on the locations. Click here to complete the survey and here for an Advert article showing Rivermead as the preferred skate board community option.

Allotments for Shaw

20 November 2013

We are pulling together a list of interested residents so, if you are one of them, please tell us. To date we have made a case to our local councillors and won support in principle. Our goal is to have the allotments provided in a central location making it easy to walk to for most residents and have good wheelbarrow access! One possible good location is Salt Way School.

Swinley Drive Safety

6 November 2013

We are pulling together an argument to improve the safety for pedestrians, particularly children, crossing this road. If you agree improvements are needed please click here to sign the petition.

Washpool Bridge to be Strengthened and Widened

2 August 2013

The narrow bridge through Washpool is planned to be strengthened and widened within the next year. The SRA have been assured that the widening is to allow for a footpath to be run across it and not to allow two way traffic to flow – the road already suffers from extreme levels of rat run traffic with some drivers going much too fast – it has been reported by a Wiltshire councillor as the most dangerous road in Wiltshire.

Community Infrastructure Levy – CIL

June 2013

The government is introducing a new way to collect infrastructure money from developers in parallel with the Section 106 requirements. The SRA have asked SBC some questions on this new process. Click here for the Q&A’s.

Shaw Forest Solar Park

February 2013

Click here to download our initial position on the proposal & Click here to download a leaflet giving more information about the proposal

SBC 2026 Local Plan

February 2013

Click here to download our response to the plan. Our comments all centre around transport infrastructure in West Swindon and the need for the plan to be more robust in this respect. Click here to go to the SBC local plan web site and click here to download a document containing all the comments made and responses from SBC – note this is a 473 page document containing over 3000 responses!

Dual Lines for Swindon to Kemble Railway

February 2013

Network rail has started the project to dual the line from Swindon to Kemble. Click here to learn more. If you have any questions or concerns about this effort, for example the impact on Sparcells residents, please email network rail at this email address: crwest@networkrail.co.uk

Wiltshire Core Strategy and Ridgeway Farm

July 2011

Wiltshire County Council has released their Core Strategy consultation document (see below for links). It defines the area between Swindon and Wootton Bassett, Cricklade and Purton as “West of Swindon”. This newly defined area has been designated just 200 houses in the Core Strategy. These houses are already being built at Moredon Bridge. Therefore any development of Ridgeway Farm and Pry Farm (see maps below) would be outside of the Core Strategy. This is good news for the people of Swindon and our Wiltshire neighbours. The SRA is obviously supportive of this strategy. However, it does not stop the developer putting in a planning application, which will be considered on its merits. As such development of these “farms” could still go ahead. click here for our full position paper

Application for 50 more houses at Moredon Bridge site

September 2011

The developer building the new homes on Wiltshire land at Moredon Bridge has put in an application for 50 more houses on the site. Visit the Wiltshire Planning web site and enter application number 11/02763/FUL to submit comments or view the application. The SRA has voiced its objection. Click here for our full position paper

What are all these “Farm” development proposals?

There are three potential areas of development to the West and North of Swindon. These proposals are complicated because two of them lay on land within the Wiltshire Council (WCC) planning authority and one on land within Swindon Borough Council (SBC) planning authority. This means any lobbying against the applications must be adapted based on the location. Click here for maps showing the location of these planning applications. Tadpole Farm is a proposal brought to us by SBC. Pry Farm and Ridgeway Farm are brought to us courtesy of WCC. On the later map, you will see an area called “Moredon Bridge Site”. This is also owned by WCC and this development has already started. For WCC Core Strategy website click here For SBC 2026 local plan click here