Plans for public space to be to lost to make way for a pumping station flushing waste from the New Eastern Villages development have been approved.

Thames Water has been given planning permission to site a new pumping station to serve the 8,000 houses that will be built east of the  A419.

The station will be situated on a triangle of council-owned land between the dual carriageway and Merlin Way.

Members of Thames Water’s management team gave a presentation, including details of the station, to Swindon Borough Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee on the day that planning consent was confirmed.

The head of capital delivery for Thames Water Chris Reeves told the committee the pumping station, and associated works included a common main sewer in the NEV area, a deep sewer tunnel crossing of the A419 and two rising mains, one discharging to the network at Covingham Drive, and the second doing that at Greenbridge Retail Park.

His briefing emphasised: “There are no direct benefits to existing Thames Water Customers relating to this new pump station and it is to be 100 per cent funded by infrastructure charges, paid via new housing connection agreements.

“However, this essential infrastructure is a fundamental enabler of the socio-economic benefits of the SBC NEV masterplan.”

With work able to start now consent has been granted, the timeline for the pumping station becoming operational is no earlier June 2026, but a slight delay in the planning permission being granted may well cause that date to slip.

(Image: Thames Water) The land the station will use is currently heavily wooded, with an open area surrounded by trees and Swindon Borough Council’s tree officer expressed significant concerns about the plan.

In response, Thames Water said: “The proposed Development has been located within the open area of land within the woodland to minimise tree loss where possible.

"Although the temporary construction compound will result in the removal of a number of trees to facilitate the construction of the pumping station, this will be mitigated with a high-quality scheme of new tree planting and associated landscaping works."

There was discussion about how many trees would need to be lost in order to enable the building of the station.

Thames Water said it was impossible to say how many trees need felling before more work at the site was carried out, but added: “Smaller trees, understorey or coppiced trees may be retainable closer to the compound footprint as opposed to larger trees or trees of very poor form which wouldn’t be suitable for retention.”

Thames Water indicated that work may well now start after Christmas to avoid disruption to neighbours only to stop again for the holidays.

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