Wichelstowe supermarket planning application

A planning application, S/RES/13/0485 has now been submitted by Kilo Properties Limited for a supermarket beside the canal at the junction of Mill Lane and Foxham Way. There’s not much doubting whom the architects would like you to think the occupant will be, but apart from the artist impressions of the store, there’s little evidence of the future occupants. The application does include one document that is described as being by Waitrose, but that appears to have been prepared by the applicants’ agents. Waitrose’ website remains silent about a possible new store in Swindon.

The application is open for comment — either in support or to object. One Wroughton resident has already objected to the application, on the grounds that they feel Wharf Road will not be able to cope with the traffic. Swindon Borough Council expect to make a decision on the application by July this year.

Supermarket speculation

There has been a fair bit of speculation of late as to which supermarket chain might take the store in the Wichelstowe district centre — that’s the one to eventually be built at the junction of Foxham Way and Mill Lane. Yet online, all trails for this lead back to the Swindon Advertiser, two articles in January, and one article in March this year. That last article starts with the claim

“The main board of Waitrose has approved plans to deliver the Wichelstowe District Centre, which would kickstart the next phase of home-building.”

yet the stongest direct quote it has states only that

“It’s no secret that we’re keen to open a shop in Swindon and we’re looking at a number of opportunities including the one at Middle Wichel to achieve this.”

There is mention of an exchange of contracts in “coming weeks”, but that is an unquoted statement from an unnamed council spokesman.

It’s fairly well known that housebuilders like rumours or more of a nearby Waitrose supermarket — it helps keep house prices up. Given that, we could add to the speculation by speculating as to where the rumours originate from. We have no information as to the truth or otherwise of the rumours but anyone thinking of moving to East Wichel would be wise not to let the speculation influence their decisions, until Waitrose publicly confirm their intentions.

Shops - not expected soon

It’s an often repeated question, both in the comments on this site, and at each meeting of the East Wichel Community Association: “Any news on the shops yet?”. The last news of that was at the Community Association meeting on 11 October. Taylor Wimpey’s update was

“No further update on the shop but Taylor Wimpey does continue to chase on behalf of the residents.”

However, they also gave reasons for why the barriers around the shop site have been removed and replaced with a mound of earth.

“In order to improve the area, topsoil bunding has been seeded around the area immediately outside the school, and weeding completed around the police and StoweAway portacabins, as it could be another two years until work is fully completed on this parcel.”

So it could be two years until the housing parcel including the shops is completed.

More bus service reductions for East Wichel

Thamesdown Transport have revealed that Service 11 to East Wichel will be halved in frequency from 6 January 2013. Compared with the level of service before the withdrawal of Stagecoach service 73 in September this year, the bus service between East Wichel and Swindon town centre will have dropped from 5 buses an hour down to just 2 buses an hour.

From 6 January 2013, Thamesdown bus services will be revised with the present services 11 and 24 being replaced by service 11 and a new service 12. Service 11 will be rerouted between Pinehurst and Greenmeadow to run via Whitworth Road instead of Beech Avenue and Broadway. Services 11 and 12 between them will provide a service every 15 minutes from Evelyn Street bus stop via Old Town, the town centre, Pinehurst and Greenmeadow to the Orbital Centre in Haydon Wick. South of the Pipers roundabout, service 12 will run to the Great Western Hospital, along the route that service 24 takes now. Service 11 will continue to Nationwide Croft campus, Wroughton Park & Ride, and East Wichel as it does now, but only once every 30 minutes. There will be extra buses at peak times to provide at 15 minute interval service, but only as far as Nationwide Croft campus, not to the Park & Ride or East Wichel.

The changes are part of service reductions following the end of developer-subsidies for buses to the Great Western Hospital. But with bus usage from East Wichel slowly increasing as more houses are occupied, the reduction in service here is disappointing.

We thank Thamesdown Transport for providing us with this information, disappointing though it is. Full details of the revised service will be available from them from mid-December.

Broadband internet and satellite TV in East Wichel

Over recent months we have received several queries about satellite TV in East Wichel, usually specifically about arrangements for receiving Sky TV in Wichelstowe. What follows is our understanding, based on the East Wichel design codes, house purchase contracts we have seen, and statements made by Swindon Borough Council at East Wichel Community Partnership meetings.

The main television transmitter for the Swindon area is at Blunsdon in north Swindon. Reception from there is weak in East Wichel, and the signals are obstructed by the ridge of land at Old Town and Okus. To overcome this, the whole of East Wichel is provided with fibre-optic-cabled TV and radio. This is fed from a mast near Croft Road, which receives and boosts the signal from, amongst others, the Mendip transmitter.

Under contract to the site developers (originally Taylor Wimpey and Swindon Borough Council, but now just Taylor Wimpey) the fibre optic cabling was installed by iNexus Group. Telephone and broadband internet through the cables are supplied by Seethelight, a trading name of iNexus Group company Independent Service Provider Limited. TV and radio is supplied by Fibre to the Home Limited, trading as FTTH. They charge an annual fee (£15.60 in 2012). As yet, no other companies, such as BT, have been licenced to provide services over iNexus Group’s network in East Wichel.

In part because of this wholesale provision of cable TV and radio, and also for aesthetic reasons, the East Wichel Design Code forbids external aerials and satellite dishes. This is enforced through planning permisions and property law. So properties sold by the commercial house builders in East Wichel include restrictive covenants forbidding external aerials and dishes, and houses rented by Sovereign Housing include the restrictions in the tenancy agreements. Such restrictions are not unprecedented — Harlow New Town, built from the 1950s, has similar restrictions.

It is quite common for the telecommunications network in large new housing developments to be provided by small independent companies. However, the combination of that with poor terrestrial TV reception and planning restrictions on external aerials and dishes is unusual.

You may see a few satellite dishes in East Wichel, but earlier in 2012 Swindon Borough Council stated that they intend to enforce the planning restrictions and get these removed. Note that it is the responsibility of the house owner or tenant to ensure that they comply with the regulations; it is not the responsibility of the satellite dish installers.

In summary options for TV and radio reception in East Wichel are limited to either taking the service from FTTH, or installing an aerial or dish inside your house in the loft space. Any property owner or tenant installing an aerial or satellite dish outside may be subject to legal enforcement action from the council to get them removed.

Withdrawal of Stagecoach service 73

Stagecoach have announced that their bus service 73 is to be withdrawn. The service will run for the last time on Saturday 1 September.

The service was introduced with the intention of providing a bus link between East Wichel and Wroughton. In practice it has been mainly used by East Wichel passengers as a more direct route to Swindon than Thamesdown service 11, with very few East Wichel passengers making the journey to Wroughton.

A place to admire the view

Some well-secured benches have now been placed by the ponds and canal, for those wishing to sit and admire the view… or listen to the sound of traffic on the motorway.