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Priory Vale is a community in the north of the town of
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
, Wiltshire, England, which comprises the urban villages of Redhouse, Oakhurst and Haydon End. Although not strictly part of Priory Vale, the nearby village of Taw Hill completes this instalment of Swindon's northern expansion which began with Abbey Meads in the mid-1990s and continued at St Andrew's Ridge. The area was developed during the early 21st century. Priory Vale is served by Thamesdown Drive, or the 'Northern Orbital Road', a dual carriageway which runs through the centre of the area and links Purton Road in West Swindon, itself an urban expansion area from the 1970s and 1980s, to the A419 Blunsdon bypass. On completion, Priory Vale is expected to comprise just over 6,000 new homes spread over . The homes themselves take up , interspersed with of open space. Four primary schools and two secondary schools are provided. Previously known as the Northern Development Area, the potential for development was identified by Swindon Corporation in the 1960s in planning documents known as the Gold and Silver books, and the scheme was confirmed in a "Vision for Thamesdown" in the 1980s.


Location

Although within the urban area of
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
, Priory Vale falls outside the traditional area of Swindon proper (covered by the
parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
of
Central Swindon North Central Swindon North is a civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. History The parish of Central Swindon North was created in 2017, alongside Central Swindon South (later renamed to South Swindon). In 2022, the council o ...
and South Swindon). The bulk of the expansion area lies within Haydon Wick parish, which covers the areas occupied by earlier developments from the 1970s at Haydon Wick, Haydonleigh, Greenmeadow, Abbey Meads, Haydon End, parts of Redhouse, Taw Hill and large parts of Oakhurst west of the Tadpole Brook. Redhouse, the northern part of the development, is within
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
parish.


History of the area

Blunsdon Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; ...
, north of Priory Vale, is a village dating back to the Iron Age, where the earliest ancestors fortified and built a settlement. Blunsdon is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Bluntesdone', at which time the settlements in the area had altogether ten households. In 1281, there was also a reference to 'Bluntesdon Seynt Andreu'. In recent years, archaeologists discovered a Roman travellers' resting place on the site of the present-day Cold Harbour pub a mile or so away from the 'northern expansion', and the A419 main road through Blunsdon follows the course of a Roman road known as Ermine Street that linked the historic towns of
Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...
and Silchester. The recent Roman find at Groundwell Ridge Abbey Meads within the 'northern expansion' is believed to be a religious and ceremonial site. Blunsdon Abbey was a grand Victorian house in the area, and its name inspired the title of the Abbey Meads development. The name 'Priory Vale' follows this monastic theme. Local tradition claims Blunsdon Abbey was originally an outpost of Godstow nunnery near Oxford. Apparently, the land was granted to the Brydges family during the reign of Henry VIII. In 1860, a wealthy sportsman, Clayton de Windt, purchased the estate and built a new house in the "latest Neo-Gothic style" to designs by E.Mantell of London. The builder was Thomas Barrett of Swindon, who created an imposing residence with forty bedrooms, grand interiors, entrance hall, billiards room and lavish furnishings. Clayton de Windt was killed in a riding accident in 1863, and in April 1904, fire destroyed the house and its contents. The modern development occupies farmland and fields. The villages of Redhouse and Haydon End are named after these historical fields, while the village name of Oakhurst was taken from the name of the home at Haydon End Farm. Prior to 1928, the parish of Haydon Wick was part of the parish of Rodbourne Cheney.


Timeline of development

April 1983: Developer Crest Nicholson invited to participate in scheme by Godfrey and Jeremy Francis, land owners at Manor Farm, and enter into contractual arrangements with the family. July 1992: Planning Permission granted on Haydon 1, the first phase of the scheme. September 1993: Works commence on first phase at Manor Farm. November 2001: The Mayor of Swindon, David Cox, officially opened the Northern Orbital Road. The three-mile stretch of dual carriageway provided the first stage of an important bypass to the north of Swindon. The new road gave access to the new supermarket and provided the necessary infrastructure to begin work on the planned community of Priory Vale. The Asda supermarket opened for business on 26 November. 2002: Chris and Tracy Barnes, with their daughters Natalie and Jessica, became the first residents of Priory Vale. The couple took up residence in a three-storey house built by Bloor Homes in their Saunders Brook development. May 2002: The May bank holiday saw the installation of what was reputed to be Swindon's 'showiest' bridge. Specifically designed for all pedestrian, cycle, disabled and equestrian use, this steel stayed structure spans 62 metres across the Northern Orbital Road. The bridge was transported from Tyneside complete and ready to position, minimising any disruption to traffic on Thamesdown Drive. The bridge later featured in an advert for the
Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/Honda City, City and Honda Accord in Honda's global passenger car line-up. The first-generation Civic was introduced in July 1972 ...
which is built in the town. November 2002: The Priory Vale Visitor Centre opened to the public. The timber-framed building was designed by Nigel Clark Architects and built by EW Beard. 2005: Construction of the Learning Campus commences. The project involves designing, building and operating three primary schools – Red Oaks, Brimble Hill and Uplands – and a secondary school, Isambard Community School (later renamed Abbey Park School). The project also includes Orchid Vale primary school in Haydon End. September 2006: Red Oaks and Orchid Vale primary schools open. September 2007: It is proposed that a new community centre will be provided for Oakhurst and Redhouse residents.


The North Swindon Development Company

The first land deal that made Swindon's northern expansion project possible dates back to 1982 when housing developer Crest Nicholson was approached by land owners and farmers, the Francis family of Manor Farm. Following meetings between John Callcutt and Godfrey (Senior) and Jeremy Francis a deal was struck that set Crest Nicholson on its way to becoming involved in one of Europe's largest residential urban developments. Godfrey and Jeremy Francis introduced the Crest development team to other land owners within the scheme including the Clifford family of Haydon Farm. Following extensive negotiations all involving, Godfrey and Jeremy Francis fellow landowners, the Hitch and Webb's entered into contracts with Crest Nicholson. On obtaining planning permission, began in earnest. After years of intense negotiation, and precisely 10 years later, planning permission for 10,000 new homes was granted in 1992 (known as the Haydon development) with the first phase of development commenced. The Francis family were established land owners in Swindon farming over 700 acres of land in the area since1945 when they acquired their first farm at St Leonard's Blunsdon. A further acquisition was made in 1955 at Manor Farm Haydon Wick which formed the core of the Haydon Sector development Scheme. Godfrey Francis in particular assisted the management team at Crest and along with his son Jeremy formed a strong working relationship with both John Callcutt (then managing director of Crest homes 1982) and his brother Paul Callcutt head of Crest strategic Land. It is recognized that without the initial invitation to Crest Homes by Jeremy Francis and their continued involvement in Swindon to this day might never have taken place. Work commenced in 1993, just off Lady Lane. From a slow start, 81 houses were built and sold in 1994, 800 houses were sold in 1997, and at the peak, the project had twelve of the UK's leading housebuilders building, with over 2,700 houses in the development known as Abbey Meads. The North Swindon Development Company (NSDC) was formed to allow developers to share planning costs. It is owned and run jointly by
George Wimpey George Wimpey Limited was a British construction firm that typically worked in the civil engineering and housebuilding markets. It was, during the 1970s, the largest homebuilder active in the UK. Established in 1880 and originally based in H ...
, Westbury, Bloor Homes, Bryant Homes, Crest Nicholson and Asda.


Amenities

There are six schools in Priory Vale: Brimble Hill Primary School, Abbey Park School, Red Oaks Primary School and Uplands Secondary School all within the Priory Vale Learning Campus in Redhouse; Orchid Vale Primary School in Haydon End; and Oakhurst Community Primary School in Oakhurst. The area is home to what was reputed to be the largest supermarket in the United Kingdom, an
Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...
with of retail space. As well as the superstore, the Orbital Shopping Park has a number of big-name stores including Marks and Spencer, Next, New Look and Homebase, a
drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products (or use the service provided by the business) without leaving their c ...
restaurant, coffee shops, a petrol station and the North Swindon Library.


References

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External links


Haydon Wick Parish CouncilSt Andrews Parish Council
Geography of Swindon Housing estates in England