Councillors in Swindon have agreed to move ahead with consulting the public over the vision for the town’s future.
Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet agreed to approve plans to progress its draft Heart of Swindon document, which will now go out for feedback before coming back to cabinet for approval.
The ambitious document raises the possibility of:
- Redeveloping the Brunel Shopping Centre
- 5,000 homes in the town centre
- The creation of a new arts space which could be the new home for the Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts
Councillors at the cabinet’s November 13 meeting noted the many failed attempts at similar ventures in the past but remained optimistic about the new vision.
Cllr Kevin Small said: “The difference between this plan and other plans is that other plans were always about making Swindon town centre bigger than it was because in those days, if you had a bigger town centre you became a bigger town.
“This is about reshaping the town centre and bringing about a different town centre and we are seeing buy-in that was not there before. Not just from those who do town centre plans but from those who have actually got the money to put into these projects
“The vibes we’re getting is that there is an opportunity where people want to invest in Swindon. One of our biggest problems has always been land values. Land values have always been low in Swindon so therefore it doesn’t give people the returns they want.
“So something like the new entertainments centre will improve land values, the Bus Boulevard will improve land values for the town; therefore it will attract more investment.”
Leader of the council Cllr Jim Robbins acknowledged the cynicism over many previous attempt to improve the town centre.
He added: “All we can do is try to get the plans as good as we can and by taking it out to the people and get their responses, on what they want to see in the town centre, and try to work with them to deliver it.
“And then really being brave about taking the message out to these investors and saying ‘we can work with people to drive it forward and make it work’.”
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