This area was once a village, but is now a large parish, with a population of around 23,000 people. The parish is set in around 200 acres of land and has many local amenities including a retail park and leisure centre, cinema, a community hall, children’s play parks, allotments, a library, pubs, restaurants and shops. Both Sainsburys and the Co-op are in the area. Both Kingsdown secondary school and Colebrook junior school are rated as Good by Ofsted. Swindon railway station is just 1.5 miles from the plot with a regular main-line service to London Paddington and there is easy access to the M4 and M5. Swindon is a very large town with a population of around 185,000. Nationwide Building Society and the National Trust have their Headquarters in Swindon and major employers include Vickers, BMW and Zurich Financial Services. Local attractions include the 260- acre Lydiard Park Country House and Estate, Shaw Forest Park and there are two local museums. The Brunel Shopping Centre is a large retail centre and the town centre has household names such as Waitrose, M & S and Primark. There is also the Swindon Designer Outlet. Swindon town has a professional football team and is also renowned for its ice-hockey and speedway teams.