Work on the first of 11 industrial or warehouse units to be built during the redevelopment of the Honda site in South Marston should start later this year.

And when the entire site is completed - which bosses expect to be in five years' time - the developer Panattoni expects the boost to Swindon’s economy to be £200m a year.

The news came as the company hosted the Mayor of Swindon, Barbara Parry, and leader of the Borough Council, Jim Robbins, for a groundbreaking ceremony in front of a backdrop of the demolition of the existing car factory.

Swindon Advertiser: MD of Panattoni, Matthew Byron, speaks to council leader Jim Robbins at the ground breaking ceremony of Panattoni ParkMD of Panattoni, Matthew Byron, speaks to council leader Jim Robbins at the ground breaking ceremony of Panattoni Park (Image: Dave Cox)Earlier the company hosted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Swindon’s two MPs, Sir Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson, to show them the work and the project plans, in what it says is a £900m investment in Swindon.

Panattoni’s managing director Matthew Byron said: “It’s very exciting for us to be here today.

“It hasn’t been an easy journey to get here, we started negotiations during Covid and I remember negotiating with Honda management wearing a mask.

“But it was clear Honda cares about the site and its workforce here. And they wanted a reliable partner who would deliver.”

Swindon Advertiser: Machinery moves in to demolish the old Honda factoryMachinery moves in to demolish the old Honda factory (Image: Dave Cox)

Mr Byron emphasised the deliverability of the site, and Panattoni’s firm intention to get it redeveloped and said the fact that it was a speculative development was important.

He added: “We are talking to some significant possible occupiers – and it being speculative is key.

"If you’re waiting for the perfect solution, there’s always a delay, whereas if companies know the units here will be delivered on time, they will fit into them.”

Panattoni’s development director James Watson said: “The first unit is 950,000 square feet – that’s nearly half the size of the existing factory which is 2,200,000 square feet.”

When completed the entire site will see 11 units of differing sizes offering a total of 7.2m square feet of covered space.

The site will also be opened up with open access through the site in contrast to the fences that characterised it when used by Honda.

Cllr Robbins said: "It was a very sad day when it was announced Honda was leaving. But this is a hugely exciting opportunity and I’m glad to see Panattoni shares the commitment to greening the site and making it open and accessible, with public transport and green routes through it."

After the speeches, Cllr Robbins, Mayor Cllr Parry and Mr Byron and other members of the Panattoni project team took up their spades to make a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony.