Plans for 500 new homes on Cotswolds village golf course

Developer Gleeson Land is bringing forward outline plans for a development on Twelve Oaks golf course off Lechlade Road in Highworth, Swindon.

The just over 8,000-person village is on the edge of the Cotswolds, over the border from Oxfordshire.

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Twelve Oaks golf club closed in 2019 and the 30 hectare site – equivalent to about 42 football pitches – is set to be transformed into a new neighbourhood.

Currently in an early phase of informal consultation ahead of submitting a planning application, the developer is proposing a residential neighbourhood of 500 new homes of mixed sizes, types and tenures.

There would also be a community and retail hub to act as a ‘focal point’ for the neighbourhood and a ‘mobility hub’ to prioritise sustainable travel including walking, cycling, public transport and electric vehicle charging.

Described as a ‘landscape-led design’, the proposed layout includes ‘connected green spaces’ to be used as public open space like parkland, allotments, landscape corridors and play areas.

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A statement from Gleeson Land said: “An outline planning application is being prepared which would agree the principle of development, access and key parameters.

“The detailed design of the development is therefore yet to be prepared and would be brought forward at a later stage of the planning process if outline permission is granted.

“As a result, any feedback relating to the specific design and layout of the scheme can be used to inform the detailed design of the scheme at the successive planning stage.”