Priory Vale

Priory Vale is a community in the north of the town of Swindon, 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 640 acres (2.6 km2). The homes themselves take up 390 acres (1.6 km2), interspersed with 82 acres (330,000 m2) 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, Priory Vale falls outside the traditional area of Swindon proper (covered by the parishes of Central Swindon North 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.