Swindon leaders visit new estate

Local housebuilder Persimmon Homes Wessex were pleased to welcome Swindon Borough Council’s Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing to their development in the north-east of the town.

Cllr Jim Robbins and Cllr Janine Howarth were welcomed to the Stanton Chase site by the Wessex business’ Managing Director, Julian Roper, and Senior Planning Manager, James Proyer.

Both councillors were able to discuss the administration’s priorities in planning and housing with the team as they were given a tour of the development which is delivering 113 high-quality homes for local people as part of its current phase, including public housing and retail space.

It follows Cllr Howarth’s visit to another major development in Swindon, Badbury Park, where Persimmon recently handed over 48 properties to GreenSquareAccord.

During Persimmon’s time at Badbury Park, they have overseen nearly 600 new homes occupied on site, and contributed over £1.3m in funding for the delivery of local education, infrastructure improvements and public open space. A new community centre and local convenience store have also opened.

Persimmon’s employs over 5,000 people directly and supports over 80,000 jobs in the supply chain, and its long-established Community Champions programme sees over £700,000 spent on good causes across Britain each year. 1st West Swindon Scouts, Swindon Carers Trust, and Wiltshire Air Ambulance are all recent recipients in the area

Currently, the five-star housebuilder’s available properties at Stanton Chase are three and four-bed homes, priced from £299,995, with more to come soon.

Persimmon Homes Wessex Managing Director Julian Roper said:

“We were delighted to welcome Cllrs Robbins and Howarth to our Stanton Chase site recently to demonstrate how we are helping to deliver the dream of home ownership to more local families.

“It is important to us at Persimmon that we engage with local leaders because it is in both our interests to ensure the vision for placemaking in the area are in line with the existing community.

“I look forward to building our relationship with Swindon’s leaders going forward so we can sustain our ambition of continuing to delivering high-quality homes for the town’s people.”

Swindon Borough Council Leader, Cllr Jim Robbins, added:

“We’re grateful to Julian and his team for their time and showing us around their site.

“The Council is in the process of reviewing our Local Plan, and engaging with housebuilders is important to understanding what can be delivered for the people of Swindon.

“Given that climate change is a matter high on our political agenda and will certainly be significant component of any future plan, it is positive to see the progress being made in that regard by developers like Persimmon and it is something we certainly will want to see more of.”

Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Janine Howarth, commented:

“It is a priority for Swindon Council that we have a healthy stock of affordable housing and working closely with Persimmon and other housebuilders is a vital part of delivering that supply.

“I was pleased that we were able to do a handover of 48 affordable Persimmon properties recently at Badbury Park due to such an agreement, and we look forward to many more including at Stanton Chase.”