Swindon Town Centre

[4D]

Havelock St should be pushed towards getting a few decent cafe's, it's got the makings of a decent little alfresco dining option for the Town Centre.

Replace the old Bingo hall with a music venue as has been mentioned, and link up Theatre Sq & Regent Circus with a few decent restaurants and you've got somewhere worth making a trip to past 5pm (Foxies may need relocating mind).

Encourage specialist independents into the shops from H&M up towards the Savoy.

Pedestrianise the bit infronf of the Town Hall and create a sort of plaza feel - the Dance Studios would no doubt love to have a little outside space dedicated to giving shows in good weather.

Sort out a replacement for the Bus Terminal, linking it to the train station with a few shops and the like.

See if a Cinema would like the car park below the Wyvern along with a few restaurants.

Sorted for the next few years I wuld guess, and most of it wouldn't cost a fortune.  Give it a few years and a developer will go for the College site, especially with a 6 storey building already there and planning permission granted for one 17 stroey's high.

So not much to do then?

[Ardiles]

Apologies for continually resurrecting this thread, but I've lived out of town for some years now and I've just seen this...

http://www.swindon.gov.uk/j51312_supplementary_planning_document.indd.pdf

Has anyone else seen the sheer scale of the development planned for east Swindon?!  I'm gobsmacked that - with massive developments planned in the south and east of town (to complement those already built in the north and west) - there's so little ambition for the centre.

Planners need to think very carefully what they're creating.  Swindon will cover a huge area in 20 years from now and, if they're not careful, will have no discernable centre or heart.  If the suburban developments do go ahead, the centre needs a massive overhaul.  Talk of market stalls and local shops for local people doesn't really cut it.

[leefer]

Agreed Ardiles...my way of thinking is that Town Centres will soon be a thing of the past....these areas ware massive building projects are occuring need there own identitys and shops etc.....its how it used to work..and i feel it was better for communitys,i live in Stratton and really with the state the Town centre is in i dont really want to or need to go to Swindon centre...yes a civic area..a nice hotel and something cultural like a venue for art and music....but more trashy shops pubs or takeaways...not for me.

[jonny72]

That plan suggests that the retail development will be more like Old Town and Gorse Hill, rather than West Swindon or North Swindon (Orbital). It also specifically states it mustn't compete with the Town Centre. I guess we're a bit fortunate in Swindon, as with all the future expansion it gives us a chance to re-generate the Town Centre (with increased usage) provided we stop the out of town developments.

Though I quite like the idea of demolishing large chunks of the houses in the Town Centre and replacing them with apartment blocks. It will increase the population in the Town Centre and reduce some of the need to expand outwards. Plus it would mean we can get rid of all the shit houses and areas.

[Ardiles]

The point I was making, though, was that with all these developments, I'm amazed that no one seems to think that a vastly improved town/city centre is viable.  Apart from a little tinkering around the edges, the current town centre is not vastly different in scale or style from the way it was in the early 1980s.  It was built for the needs of a town that extended as far west as Rodbourne and as far north as Greenmeadow.

Since then, there have been massive developments in North Swindon and West Swindon and now there are further plans in the south and east.  When those are built, the urban area will be roughly on a par with Reading's...but the town centre will be nothing like Reading's in terms of either its built environment or the facilities it will offer.  It doesn't add up.

If you continue building out in to the countryside and fail to address the failing core of the town, in time you will simply create the slum of the future.

[jonny72]

There are quite a few re-developments either planned or talked about for the town centre which will happen at some point, such as re-development of the shopping centre, new bus / train station, Regent Circus, a new theatre / arts centre. Plus there are a few large chunks of land with things planned.

The biggest problem is all the out of town development which keeps people away from the town centre. Stop that and as the population increases more and more people will go to the town centre, once they are there the investment will follow. From what I've read this is the way forward for councils, as opposed to some years ago when they were doing the opposite.

[ronnie21]

Jonny you have hit the nail right on the head "talked about - will happen at some time"  "things planned"  - just when we will see it start to happen?  Now everyb ody is blaming the recession, but these things were planned and the land made available long before we had heard of Icelandic banks!

[michael]

They should build an O2 Academy (nee Carling Academy) type music venue

[Simon Pieman]

They should knock the whole thing down and turn it into an IKEA

[Saxondale]

They should build an O2 Academy (nee Carling Academy) type music venue

AMG (who run the academies) are opening a new birmingham academy to replace the current one and also opening a brighton academy sometime soon (its been a long running saga with that one).  After that I reckon there quite a few towns they'll go for before Swindon(unfortunately).

I'd love them to open one.  Itll be a few years though!

[jonny72]

just when we will see it start to happen?

When the money is available I'd imagine - the vast majority of it won't come from the council so they are reliant upon others coming up with it. The Regent Circus and main shopping centre developments have fallen through as the developers have gone bust and the cash isn't there anymore. I'd imagine the rail / bus station re-development will be largely financed by the government and they'd need some convincing.

Getting a university would be a big boost, but I can't see that happening any time soon thanks to all the fucking tree huggers we seem to attract.

[Don Rogers Shop]

Oakfield would be ideal for a uni.

[Simon Pieman]

Oakfield would be ideal for a uni.

 

[Spencer_White]

Jonny, we missed out in the 2002-2007 property boom, where other town centres really kicked on and got investment.

I think it will be another 10 years before anyone has the confidence to implement the sort of plans that they were talking about for Swindon.

Missed the boat. (again).

[Power to people]

Their latest one is to build new house is the likes of Park, Liden, Penhill etc

Where the hell are they going to find space in these areas for new houses unless they start building on the green land.

At the moment Swindon Council seem to be able to talk the talk but seem to be struggling to walk the walk...all talk no action.