IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Yardlee Walk, SWINDON, SN1 7BG

Some idea of what this former farmland looked like before the Wichelstowe development commenced can be gained from the view in the far distance. The land was known informally as the Front Garden, an area of land south of Swindon and north of the M4 between junction 16 and Croft Road. Over the next few years the development will proceed to the west of here. Much more on the developers' website http://www.wichelstowe.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=1

The houses here are part of the Wichelstowe development on land once called colloquially Swindon's front garden. The view was a little different in 2007 when I last photographed it http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/584093 from a viewpoint that is now inside a school playground.

This part of the new residential development is situated on the site of a farmhouse built probably in the 1960s and which I photographed in 2007 before it was demolished http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/584095 The viewpoint is not quite the same - it would have been a closeup of a wall - but it's close enough to make a fair comparison.

This is the now-derelict farmhouse associated with the defunct farm of the same name. The farmhouse and barns are now within the 'Front Garden' development area and will no doubt be demolished as construction proceeds. The house doesn't look that old and is unremarkable. Update 2014: this location looks different now http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4096352

There are quite a few three-storey terraces on this development, presumably mostly flats. The builders have used a varied mix of materials and styles intended to make the street scene more interesting. The development of Wichelstowe will take several years to complete. More on the developers' website http://www.wichelstowe.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=1

Bridge heading towards the old railway path.

These are at the western end of the eastern part of the Wichelstowe development, a somewhat controversial scheme that was always going to go ahead despite a vocal protest group's efforts to prevent it. The Wichelstowe website is very comprehensive http://www.wichelstowe.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=1

The farm is now derelict following the commencement of work to develop the area for new housing. I imagine it will be demolished at some point as there is nothing there worth preserving.

The development of what is known locally as the Front Garden is proceeding at a steady pace. Ground was first broken in 2007. To quote from the latest newsletter 'approaching 150 homes are now occupied with the pace of families moving in set to grow steadily through 2010'. What isn't clear is how many of those homes are sales and how many social housing. More about the development can be found here http://www.wichelstowe.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=1 There is a nice example of a 2002 Ford Mondeo in the centre of the image.

These are probably flats. Unusually for Swindon, the building in the middle appears to have four storeys. Doubtless internal fire protection measures will have been a primary concern when designing the properties. The design of that building harks back to what are known as London 'byelaw' houses where the party walls extend above the roof-line to reduce the risk of a fire in one roof space travelling into the next. The authorities in London have been a bit sensitive about fires since 1666. Read about the development as a whole on the developers' website http://www.wichelstowe.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=1