A BUS depot in Eastcott which provoked complaints about late-night noise and light pollution is set to be replaced with a new facility across town.

Stagecoach has operated at the site, in Eastcott Road, for many years, but now has permission from Swindon Council to build a replacement depot at the Cheney Manor Industrial Estate.

The depot became an issue when neighbours alleged unauthorised use of the bus wash equipment was keeping them awake at night.

This came to a head in September when the council’s planning committee extended the hours the bus wash can be used and illuminated on weekdays – if an acoustic fence is put up.

The fence is not yet in place, but Stagecoach now hopes within the next three years to sell the Eastcott site and then build a new 24/7-use depot on a vacant plot it bought recently.

Stuart Hibbert, 43, who lives opposite the existing depot in South Street, said problems had reduced since September, but he was delighted the council had agreed to the relocation.

Mr Hibbert, a company director, said nearby residents hoped the depot site could be used to extend the neighbouring King William Street Primary School.

He said: “We’ve got King William Street Primary School that’s a landlocked site with a separate playing field off Quarry Road, so we would love to seea playing field or new buildings.

“There’s talk of additional school places that are required in the next few years and that would be a fantastic site for expansion.”

A Swindon Council spokesman said: “The Stagecoach application received just one letter in support and one letter of objection and, as there was no request from councillors to take the application before the planning committee, it was dealt with under delegated powers.

“The decision meets with the Government’s new National Planning Policy Framework which encourages economic development and removes the bus depot from a residential area.”

A spokesman for Stage-coach West said: “Planning permission for the new depot in Cheney Manor Industrial Estate had been granted this week and the company hopes the construction work will start in the next three years.

“However until its existing Eastcott Road site is sold, it will remain business as usual at the existing bus depot.”