Swindon Town Centre

[RWB Robin]

I agree about the town centre....although it has changed a lot since I left in 1973!!!  Coming back now, it comes across as a mess; but it seems to me it is a classic case (whatever the Council have or have not done) of the centre being killed off by developments on the edges, whether its the Outlet Centre - which is as good a design as any I know - or the Orbital District centre, or any of the other smaller centres, they make it less and less attractive to come into the centre, and if people are not spending money in the centre, no-one will put much effort into developing it, particularly now when local authorities are having to cut, cut and cut again.

[Samdy Gray]

SBC have been far, far too slow with commercial & retail development but all too quick, with the help of central government, to grant permission for housing development. It's surprising that the council have racked up £92m worth of borrowing when there must have been a whole heap of developer cash sloshing around from the North Swindon development. Where's that gone?

I guess they blame lack of cash for the lack of action. The only developments that have taken place have been superficial asthetic improvements like the train station, which I suppose is because they are cheap but really are just a waste of money.

I think I read somewhere last week that the first brick for the Regent Circus development is due to be laid next year. That'll be nearly seven years since the college closed.

The first developments on Union Square should be complete next year too. Well, a car park and apartment block at least. They still need to demolish the bus station and Carfax Street area. All too often we see ultra ambitous plans from the council that never come to fruition. Brunel expansion anyone?

Of course we've now got plans for the Oasis/North Star development too which also look promising. One advantage here is that it's already in private ownership, but I wonder how long this will take to get off the ground too.

[Simon Pieman]

The problem with most of the town centre shopping area is that it isn't council owned and therefore they cannot define how the space is utilised (other than by blocking a specific type of development I guess).

All the new proposed developments are on council owned land. The big idea is to connect the Carfax Street/Zurich builing side with the Debenhams side and have a nice shiny new walkway all through it all (hence why the outside of the train station has been done). Oh and add a bit of height to the buldings too. If it does happen, I think the Zurich side could look pretty good but I'm unsure about all the new apartments they're proposing to build.

It's a nice idea, but I reckon by the time it's finished, the older parts which have been built or are being built now are going to look a bit shit

[Ardiles]

It's a good start, I suppose.  That area of town is probably the area most needing attention.  It's been a bit of a bombsite for years and, if it had been left neglected for a few more, you have to wonder how much longer the likes of Zurich would choose to stay in the area.  The shabbier the area becomes, the more likely a relocation to a shiny new out of town complex becomes.  Lose the lunchtime footfall from offices like these and you might as well shut the town centre down for good.

But it has to be just the start.  The main shopping centre was built in the 1970s for a much smaller town and no longer does its job (as demonstrated by the increasing number of Swindon people who now do their shopping in the 'burbs or in other nearby towns/cities).  And when you consider that there is nothing in the Brunel centre and surrounding streets of any particular architectural merit, the wrecking ball (Basingstoke) approach is probably the best way forward.  As Si says though, that area is owned not by SBC but by an investment fund - which appears more than happy to sweat the asset for a while longer, letting it continue as a low cost, low maintenance cash cow.

That's capitalism, I guess.  It's just a shame that one consequence of this is that local Swindon people are having to make do with amenities that are, clearly, well short of what they could be.  The town is still growing so fast and you have to wonder whether, eventually, there will be a tipping point where it becomes a complete no-brainer for the investment funds to start from scratch and build something on a scale that Swindon has never seen before.  Or maybe the boat has already sailed, and Swindon is always going to be somewhere that caters only to the most basic needs of its inhabitants...encouraging people to travel to other nearby places when they want to go to a gig/concert or have a really decent meal.  No way of telling, really.

[Samdy Gray]

It's a good start, I suppose.  That area of town is probably the area most needing attention.  It's been a bit of a bombsite for years and, if it had been left neglected for a few more, you have to wonder how much longer the likes of Zurich would choose to stay in the area. 

Zurich are moving out of the UK Life Centre next year (the building on Station Road). They will still have offices in the Tricentres though.

[jonny72]

Some of the blame is with the residents of Swindon. Back when Westfield were planning a major redevelopment of the Brunel Centre (which would have been amazing, but was never going to happen) some of the shop owners in Havelock Street got together to block it. Apparently they thought their shops were of more value than a regional shopping centre which would have included a proper John Lewis department store.

Think the biggest issue was none of the plans being pushed forward quickly enough and then the financial crash put and end to most of the plans. Still don't think the town centre is as bad as some make out, especially if you include the outlet shops.

Doesn't help that we're in the middle of Oxford, Reading, Bristol and Bath. If anyone wants decent shops, especially the smaller independents, you've got lots of choice all within a 30 minute or so car journey.

[otanswell]

This thread isn't really convincing me to buy a property in Swindon if I'm honest

[4D]

I like going to Swindon for shopping, then again I live in Calne. Swindon caters for pretty much all your needs, not all shops are in the town centre but they are in other retail parks. The only negative is that the town centre is not exactly pretty.

[Fred Elliot]

This thread isn't really convincing me to buy a property in Swindon if I'm honest

We don't really want your sort here anyway

You stick to your Croydon ghetto

 

[otanswell]

We don't really want your sort here anyway

You stick to your Croydon ghetto

 

Hiiiiiiiiiiii andy

[Ticker45]

I had a slow trawl through the plans for Swindons' growth up until 2026 which without a doubt made for heavy reading at times. Lots of various plans that cover every imaginable scenario apart from people using jet packs to get into town and Londons' fourth runway being put at Wroughton as far as it appears. None of it is really new, just a rehash of every plan that has ever been forwarded for the regeneration/expansion of the town over the last twenty-five years . Some of it is already happening regarding the centre of town and I guess some of it will happen later as housing will be needed when the economy picks up along with the need for new companies to hopefully come in that will employ the people that live in the area.

STFC are mention as being a great asset to Swindon and redevelopment of the County Ground also mentioned but no details.

[pauld]

This thread isn't really convincing me to buy a property in Swindon if I'm honest

Job done, then

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

This thread isn't really convincing me to buy a property in Swindon if I'm honest

It shouldn't put you off as long as you're not looking in SN1. Plenty of really good suburbs in Swindon. The outer shell of the town is brilliant and in most cases low on crime and hassle free. Good places to live. It's the town centre which puts the town down.

[Batch]

If we are going all serious then I agree with the above.

[Bogus Dave]

As past me stated over three years ago (wow, really? What the fuck am I still doing here)

The towns fine, its only really the square mile in the middle that looks a bit shabby. The exact opposit of slough.