Swindon council to sell off town centre plot to housing developers

Swindon Borough Council are to sell a substantial area of town centre land in order to create more housing.

The council's Scrutiny Committee this week approved the sale of 3.7 acres of property to an unidentified global finance organisation. The land is located behind the new Zurich building, by Corporation Street and Manchester Road.

Taxpayers will not be able to find out who purchased the land or discover how much was paid for it. When the cabinet considered and agreed to the sale last week, it went into private session for sections of the item. This means that the press and public are kept away from the specifics of the deal.

Cabinet member Dale Heenan said: “We should all be welcoming this. We are finally getting momentum behind the redevelopment of the town centre."

“The Zurich building is nearly completed, work has begun on Fleming Way. We’ve been talking about all this for a while and now it’s finally happening.”

The proposal states, an intention to; "deliver a high quality build-to-rent scheme of around 100 mainly family units, mostly two and three bed maisonettes and two bed flats, which would be built out and then retained and managed by the financial institution."

“The design has taken into account the adjoining residential streets and key routes and provides green spaces for the use of the occupants."

“The FI has the funding and expertise to deliver the quality of development that reflects the Council’s ambition for Kimmerfields to be the Council’s key place-making development in the town centre.”

Main picture also courtesy of Swindon Borough Council

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