New Eastern Villages project £12m overbudget
Most of the money so far has been spent on the Southern Connector Road scheme.
Last updated 11th Aug 2022
The flagship New Eastern Villages project, which could see up to 8,000 homes built to the east of the A419, is already £12m overspent.
And most of that is on the Southern Connector Road scheme.
A report to Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet says officers predicted a £12.278m overspend on the programme’s £74m budget, taking the current projected expenditure to £87m.
Just three road projects have contributed to that – work at Gabelecross went £550,000 over budget, and the Nythe Road junction and Piccadilly roundabout schemes £1.4m over.
The new Southern Connector Road, from South Marston to the Commonhead roundabout has gone over its budget by £10.3m from £30m to £40m.
Gary Sumner, Euclid Street’s cabinet member for strategic infrastructure, transport and planning, said: “The council is responsible for infrastructure projects totalling almost a quarter of a billion pounds and, unfortunately, some of these projects have gone over budget due to circumstances out of the Council’s control.
“The vast majority of the extra money needed for the New Eastern Villages schemes relates to the ongoing work to build the new Southern Connector Road, where inflationary pressures, unsuitable ground conditions, archaeology and various disputes and claims have all played a factor.
“Delays in getting utility work carried out on the Nythe Road and Piccadilly roundabout schemes, and similar issues at Gablecross junction, have also resulted in increased costs and delays. It is also not abnormal for overrunning schemes to be subject to late compensation event claims as a consequence of the work taking longer to complete.
“However, our officers are working hard to ensure that any such claims are minimised and their impact limited. We once again thanks Swindon’s residents for their understanding during what has been an unprecedented package of strategic highway improvements.”
Leader of the opposition Labour group of councillors Jim Robbins said: “This news is extremely disappointing and concerning."
“Swindon desperately needs a council administration that can get to grips with planning its roadworks properly.
The Southern Connector Road that has contributed to this £12m overspend was known to be an area of archaeological interest, yet when remains are found the council has to delay deadlines and dip in to contingency funding. More work needs to be done by the council to better predict these sorts of outcomes and to build them in to spending models. Delays mean increased labour and material costs.
While taxpayers’ money is spent on infrastructure for houses not yet built, those same tax-payers are facing more and more cuts to council services and deterioration of facilities in the town.”