£45m for road upgrades in Swindon

Swindon is to get more than £45 million from the Government to fund two major highways schemes.

The funding for improvements to White Hart roundabout (£22.5m) and the construction of the Wichelstowe Southern Access (£22.9m) are two schemes being funded by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) initial £100m wave of investments in UK roads.

The improvements to White Hart roundabout will support the forthcoming 8,000-home New Eastern Villages development to the east of the A419.

Work is due to start this month and is expected to be finished in the spring of 2021.

The Wichelstowe Southern Access is a requirement of the planning permission for the wider Wichelstowe development of 4,500 new homes, a new district centre and and 12.5 hectares of employment land.

The work is expected to be complete by the spring of 2021, allowing the next stage of the Wichelstowe development to move ahead.

Funding for both schemes will be allocated via Swindon and Wiltshire LEP.

Cllr Gary Sumner, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, said: “This is a huge vote of confidence in our house building plans by the Government and it is a real feather in our cap that we have two of the first four major highway schemes in their UK-wide investment programme.

“The funding for the White Hart roundabout means we can immediately begin the improvement works and I’m sure drivers in East Swindon will welcome the news that we are tackling congestion at one of the Borough’s key interchanges.

“The £22.9m for the Wichelstowe Southern Access is very welcome news indeed because it will unlock thousands of new homes and employment land, which will bring a significant number of jobs to the town.

“We are proud of the work that has so far taken place at Wichelstowe. We have delivered a new district centre, we have fantastic new schools, the recently restored Wilts and Berks canal and now the new homes at canalside are about to go on sale.”

* Image: The White Hart roundabout.