Councillors have agreed to start work on a ‘route map’ aimed at bringing an historic building in Swindon back into use after decades of decay.
The February 7 meeting of Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet heard the 1855-built Grade II*-listed Mechanics’ Institute, which closed in 1986 and has been abandoned ever since, has been a major concern of residents.
Now the councillors have agreed a way forward to try to save and restore the crumbling building which is currently classed as ‘at risk’ by the Theatres Trust. It was built as an educational resource for railway workers.
The route map sets out to:
- Securer a viable and sustainable new use
- Identify funding
- Address the ownership of the building
The work requires £110,000 in potential funding to support the project. The council plans to work with Swindon Heritage Preservation Trust (formerly the Mechanics’ Institution Trust) and Historic England in progressing the scheme.
Cllr Marina Strinkovsky, cabinet member for heritage, art and culture, told the meeting: “Nobody is under any illusions that bringing the Mechanics’ Institute building back into use it going to be easy or quick. But you miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take so I think with this route map that we are committing to, the message that we are sending is that we are going to try.
“We can see narrow paths forward through the various issues that have beset the past of the building up until this point and we are going to continue exploring them with our partners like Historic England and the Swindon Preservation Trust, which have been amazing partners up until now, to find a viable use for this building, which really is not only at the heart of Swindon, geographically and historically, I think it is, in some meaningful way, the heart of Swindon and we need to get it beating again.”
Leader of the council and chair of the meeting Cllr Jim Robbins referred to earlier debates about the council’s lack of funds.
He said: “It isn’t an easy project for us to get involved in. Anyone who has anything to do with the Mechanics knows how expensive it’s going to be and we are an organisation that, as we have just heard, isn’t flush with spare money.
“But one thing I do know, from living in Swindon and speaking to residents on a regular basis, is how often the Mechanics is mentioned by people.”
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