D-day looms in a bitter battle

A battle has waged during the last few years over a piece of land described as Swindon's lungs.

Now, after months of waiting, a final decision will be made on whether the Front Garden will be developed for housing or not.

Tonight councillors will sit down and vote on whether the site, which is between Old Town and the M4, should be marked for development in the Wiltshire and Swindon Structure Plan.

Campaigners are adamant that no houses should ever be built on the land as it serves as a rural buffer between Swindon and the outlying villages, and because it is one of the town's last surviving green areas.

On Tuesday night, the development plans won the backing of Wiltshire County Council, with only four votes against the proposals.

If Swindon Borough Council votes in favour of the structure plan, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott will have 28 days in which to decide whether to intervene or allow the plan to be adopted.

The site was earmarked for a development of 3,800 houses after an independent Government inspectorate looked into the plan and put the area forward as the ideal site for Swindon's expansion in March.

According to the Government, 23,000 new homes will have to be built in the town in the next decade.

The Liberal Democrats, who have stated that they are against any development on the site, have put forward a motion to the council meeting tonight for a borough-wide referendum to be carried out on whether it should go ahead.

Officers have estimated that this kind of consultation would cost the borough more than £100,000.

The Front Garden Action Group, FRAG, which is run by local campaigner Terry King, says that if the decision is in favour of housing they will take legal action against any development all the way to the High Court.

Most of the Front Garden is built on council-owned land, with about 40 per cent of it owned by the Goddard Estate, and it has been estimated that the council will earn more than £200m from the sale.

This would pay for the council's vision for the future, which includes an ultra-light tram system, a new central library and a revitalised town centre.

Terry Brady, the millionaire major shareholder of Swindon Town Football Club, has already stated his intention to build a state-of-the-art stadium on the Blagrove end of the site.

The tycoon wants to pay for the stadium through developing land on the Front Garden for housing.

According to FRAG there are many reasons why houses should not be built on the land.

These include the fact that the area is a flood plain, there is a risk of increased infant deaths for people living there because of the wet soil, and it has a number of important sites of archeological importance.

FRAG, which has an alternative plan to turn the area into a country park, also wants to make sure that all of the wildlife is preserved.

Amateur Swindon scientist Leslie Munro believes there are hidden dangers on the site.

He says that he has proven that wet soil can lead to an increase in the infant mortality rate.

His research, which has been accepted by the scientific community, has shown that infant mortality on wet soil is 31.9 per cent higher than among babies born on dry soil.