DEVELOPERS may have won the battle at Coate Water but they have not yet won the war, say campaigners, as they vow to fight for suitable housing.

The proposal by Persimmon Homes and Redrow Homes to develop land at Commonhead, off Marlborough Road, was rejected by Swindon Council’s planning committee last year, and more than 50,000 people signed a petition resisting the outline application.

But the Planning Inspectorate ruled earlier this week the development, which includes 890 homes, a village centre and a primary school, can go ahead.

The developers must now submit a detailed application for consideration and a spokesman for Swindon Council said designs would then go for public consultation.

But Redrow Homes have revealed to the Adver the type of homes it plans to build on its section of the site, called New Heritage Collection.

And Jean Saunders, who spearheaded the Save Coate campaign over several years, said she wanted a development in keeping with the setting.

She said: “If we must have development, I would prefer to see traditional stone cottages with thatched roofs – another Hodson village.

“These could blend in nicely with the rural and agricultural history of the site and Richard Jefferies would feel at home.

“We can still fight on. If they are going to develop we can try and get something a little special rather than the same usual modern housing.”

A spokesman for Redrow Homes said: “The New Heritage Collection homes on this site will be available in brick and render, inspired by one of the most popular and enduring of architectural styles, the Arts and Crafts movement.

“The introduction of this new collection comes as Redrow seeks to build the kind of homes that people want to live in, with overwhelming demand from customers for the traditional looking homes they’ve often grown up in – but with contemporary interiors and built in efficiency.”

A spokesman for the council said: “There is a condition in the planning permission which will require the developers to follow a design code for all the buildings on the site.

“The codes have not yet been put together by the council, but when they are, there will be a full public consultation about them.

“At this stage, nothing has been agreed.”