The growth of Swindon, something that will be needed for the borough to meet government housing targets, and a long-cherished policy of the borough council is at risk because of a lack of progress by Thames Water. 

That’s the concern expressed by Councillor Gary Sumner, the leader of the Conservative opposition group at the council, and until May 2023, the cabinet member for strategic planning who was leading the New Eastern Villages expansion programme. 

After the meeting he told the Adver reporter: “The NEV is the key development for delivering essential housing growth within the borough and currently the first 370 homes are under construction at Redlands Grove. 

"A requirement of the development is that Thames Water will construct a pumping station within or close to the New Eastern Villages to handle sewage from the development. The first few hundred homes -by no means all - at Redlands Grove have a temporary connection to the Wanborough Sewage Treatment Works.  

"The pumping station to be built by Thames Water has a planning application in for a site off Merlin Way in Covingham. The planning application was submitted in May 2023 and is yet to be determined by SBC over a year later. 

"If and when this is approved, it must be built and a connection to the Swindon Sewage Treatment works must be constructed from Merlin Way to the Greenbridge roundabout.

"This is not a small piece of work and could potentially put the brakes on housebuilding with the developers of the 2,500 home Lotmead site keen to progress housebuilding.” 

At the meeting in July  Thames Water bosses said they would look at the issue, and Cllr Sumner repeated: “Thames Water have known about the need for this since 2015, when they appeared at the examination in public for the current Local Plan and where they said they could provide the necessary infrastructure, which they are legally obliged to do. 

“Enormous pressure must be brought to bear on Thames Water to prevent a screeching halt to Swindon’s planned growth. 

“Questions should also be asked about their ability to supply other growth areas in the draft Local Plan – before allocating any more land for housing. Otherwise, the new plan could be found ‘unsound’ when submitted and examined by a Planning Inspector.” 

Thames Water has been approached but has not provided a response.