A PLAN is has been announced to build more than 60 new houses in Blunsdon.

The Hills Group is proposing to build 63 homes on the land between Hillside Way and the embankment containing the A419 bypass.

No formal application has been put forward to the council yet and the company is seeking the views of residents on the proposal.

Part of the plan would also involve building a sound barrier to prevent noise from the passing traffic on the A419.

The Hills Group own the embankment and the land under consideration is grassland.

It is the latest in a number of building proposals in and around the village of Blunsdon and a recent survey showed the concerns of residents that the village will become swallowed up by the building work.

Almost 1,700 homes are set to be built at Tadpole farm as well as several hundred more with the Abbey Stadium development. A separate proposal is also being considered to build a further 350 homes at Abbey Farm, although this has also yet to go to formal application.

If all the proposals get the green light, the A419 would be all that separated Broad Blunsdon from the Swindon.

The parish council is in the process of developing a Neighbourhood Plan to decide what land can be built on and carried out the survey.

While people said they were happy with the village life and felt safe, they had worries about the effect the number of projects would have on it.

More than 75 per cent of respondents said they were concerned the roads would not be able to cope with the extra traffic while 90 per cent believed it would have an adverse effect on the village.

The proposal by Hills is also next to to a separate application to build 57 properties. The land there is in a similar condition to the Hills Group plan. There have been several objections to this scheme, which is still being decided by the council.

Donna Phillips, who lives in Blunsdon High Street, said: “One of the reasons for the Blunsdon bypass was to try and reduce the traffic going through Blunsdon village and down Ermin Street.

“There is clear evidence to show that the Cold Harbour junction already cannot cope with the volume in traffic and people are already starting to come back through the village to miss the queue and try and gain priority on the roundabout.”