Plan to build 700 homes on golf course are shelved

Plans to build up to 700 homes on an old golf course have been paused after new council leaders called them "excessive for a small market town".

The original proposals for Highworth near Swindon – put forward by the previous Labour-led Swindon Borough Council – included retaining half of the land for green space and building 400 or 700 homes.

More than 200 people have campaigned against the plans, saying the site was an important haven for wildlife and a valued green space.

Jake Chandler, from the new Conservative-led council, said: "We've made a pledge that we wanted to see the golf course turned into the fifth country park in Swindon, that's our aspiration."

In 2025, Swindon Borough Council officers recommended building 700 homes on the old golf course to help meet affordable housing needs and provide more return for taxpayers.

Chandler, deputy leader of the council, has not entirely ruled out building on the site.

He said: "We haven't closed the door to exploring all options round the golf course... but we're determined to keep the golf course green."

Chandler said the authority would be working with Highworth Town Council and partners on the development of the land as a country park.

The 102-acre site has been owned by the council since the 1970s and has been publicly accessible since the golf course closed in 2019.

David Green is part of the Keep Our Golf Course Green campaign which has sought to protect the land from housing.

He said the shelving of housing plans was "brilliant news".

"I've watched it re-wild from a golf course, it's absolutely amazing," he said. "It's a haven, its a green space, its a lung."

The borough council is to publish its updated local plan by the end of the year, which will set out where homes will be built across the borough.

Michael Sly, an estate agent in Highworth, said: "All kind of homes are needed but especially property that people can afford to buy: shared ownership, social housing.

"Highworth is the only market town in Swindon, if you make it too big it gets swallowed up and loses its identity."

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