Talks regarding one of the biggest brownfield regeneration projects in the UK are under way in Swindon.
Swindon Knowledge Central, which has a board including representatives of Network Rail, Swindon Borough Council, LCR Property, GWR, Homes England, Department for Business and Trade, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), University of Bath, Business West, Western Gateway, is a new commercial, educational and residential quarter to be developed on land next to the town’s railway station.
Heidi Alexander, MP for Swindon South, chaired the board’s first meeting in September.
She said “The formation of this board is a real milestone. Change will obviously not happen overnight, but we’re at a really exciting stage where we have a firm commitment from key public sector partners to making things happen and a genuine appetite from leading businesses.
“There are very few places in the country that enjoy Swindon’s enviable location, and obvious opportunity – less than an hour from London on the train, a stone’s throw from the country’s leading higher education institutions and plentiful land in public ownership – in the heart of town.
“Creating a strong new commercial and residential district next to the railway line and giving Swindon a station we can be proud of is essential if we are to breathe new life into the town.”
Cllr Jim Robbins, leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “The board is determined to seize this huge opportunity to transform the area around Swindon station which has the potential to create new high quality jobs and homes within the Heart of Swindon.
“There is real momentum after the completion of the first phase which saw the Council’s co-investment with the universities of Oxford and Bath in a new national R&D centre in green technologies at the Carriage Works.
“This project is just one of the ways that private and public sector partners are collaborating on a shared vision to create a vibrant future for Swindon town centre.”
Top image (l-r): : Emma Walker (Network Rail); Prof Dame Ottoline Leyser (UKRI); Daniel Round (Network Rail); John Wilkinson (Western Gateway); Heidi Alexander MP (Swindon South); Matt Griffith (Business West); Cllr Jim Robbins (Swindon Borough Council); Mark Hopwood (GWR) and Colin Skellett (Business West).
Bottom image shows the site.
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