PLANS that will turn a Second World War airfield into Swindon's biggest tourist attraction have been submitted.

Planning officers are urging councillors to give the green light to the £80m project to turn the old airfield into the National Collections Centre.

The plans, submitted to Swindon Council by the Science Museum, would see the airfield's runways torn up and replaced with a vast parkland area designed to attract wildlife.

There would also be various zones or "knowledge farms" looking at a variety of themes.

Developers have to meet a series of agreements with the council, including the improvement of the road access on the A4361 at Red Barn the current entrance of the museum and work on other roads.

The Science Museum will also have to pay for changes to the Croft Road Park and Ride and to an as-yet-unannounced Park and Ride project somewhere on the Front Garden, probably near Junction 16.

Steve Briggs, head of planning, marketing and communications at the museum, said he was delighted that officers were in favour of the go-ahead.

He said: "We submitted the plans last October and it has been a lengthy process but there has been a great deal of help from the council officers.

"Having a planning decision will also greatly improve our chances with our lottery bid of £48m. We have an assessment coming up at the end of May for that bid and having a planning decision should improve our chances of success."

The scheme has the backing of the South West Regional Development Agency, which describes the project as one of the "icon projects of regional significance that will provide major economic benefits and improve the perceptions of the region".

Wroughton Parish Council says it supports the development in principle.

But has concerns about the levels of traffic, particularly when it comes to the removal of soil from the runways.

Villagers living in nearby Uffcott say they are concerned about the levels of traffic the scheme might produce.

They also question if the project is viable.

They have asked if there is a rescue plan for the site if the scheme doesn't take off, pointing to a similar scheme called the Earth Centre in Doncaster, which closed in October 2004.