WH Smith HQ to be demolished for hundreds of homes

The former headquarters of WH Smith is set to be demolished and replaced with flats after plans were approved by councillors.

The WH Smith HQ on Greenbridge Road in Swindon will soon be replaced with 219 new homes, including five and six-storey blocks of flats.

The major retailer, which recently sold its high street shops to concentrate on its outlets at stations and airports, had previously been granted outline permission to redevelop the site.

The scheme has since been approved by Swindon Borough Council, including detailed designs on how the new buildings will look.

WH Smith has operated out of the site since the 1960s.

Part of the site was sold for development in 2019 but the retailer held on to an office tower and warehouse block.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the five and six-storey blocks of flats will form a line along the boundaries with Greenbridge Road and the recently built houses on Smiths Lane.

On the roundabout, the homes will run largely west to east, with a wide, green, wooded walking track running down the centre of the site.

At the southern end of the green corridor will be another green area with a children's playground.

At the main entrance to the site from Greenbridge Road, a curved "Welcome Wall" will be constructed around one of the flood-alleviation ponds.

At a planning committee meeting, members had few concerns, but Councillor Matthew Vallender asked why the parking provision was below the council's own standards for new developments.

The council's senior highways officer, Gerry Prodohl said: "The site is so accessible that we believe that it will not create excess demand for parking."

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