The details of the design and layout for more than 200 new houses to be built just south of Highworth have been approved.

Developer Gladman Developments was given outline permission - with some reluctance - by Swindon Borough Council’s planning committee for 250 houses to be built on farmland to the east of Shrivenham Road.

That proposal was revised down in an application for approval of how the houses will look and be set out which was submitted on behalf of the builder David Wilson Homes.

And 71 of the houses to be built, just a touch below 30 per cent will be “affordable” houses, classified as those made available for rent at 80 per cent of the market rate.

The masterplan shows the houses will be set out on the largely rectangular plot in three sections, with the main road access from Shrivenham Road describing a single loop around the sight, with smaller secondary residential streets  coming off that main road.

A public right-of-way footpath runs across the middle of the site to fields either side, and that will be kept and surfaced to allow a year-round walking access.

A footpath will also follow the boundary of the site which will feature new greenery planted along the borders.

In the middle of the site will be a large public open space featuring a children’s play area, with another games and play area on the northern boundary. Flood prevention ponds will be places to the western boundary of the site next to Shrivenham Road.

David Wilson Homes has divided the estate into three blocks, nearest the road is called the Town Edge, with the middle block called the Village Centre and the third furthest away from the main road named the Rural Edge.

The borough council planning officer’s report says that the proposals were significantly revised in discussions between officers and the builders and their agents: “The appearance of the houses and the apartment blocks has been subject to numerous revisions following proactive engagement with officers and the applicant.

Changes have included a set back from the Shrivenham Road frontage along the southern part of the site to serve as a staggered entrance to Highworth as one travels from the south east, an enhanced and increased buffer along the northern and south east boundaries and a reduction in the amount of hardstanding in a prominent location through the removal of the outer access road.”