Regenerating Swindon

Over the past two years, the UK has been struggling through what can only be described as an economic crisis – a recession that has affected everyone and has impacted upon regeneration schemes around the country.

Swindon’s answer is to look to the future and plan ahead; planning for the upturn rather than focus on the negative. And there are plenty of positives: a hugely diverse industrial base, a relatively low unemployment rate and a large number of big companies based in the town. Add to this the town’s geographically location, solid communications infrastructure and an affordable commercial and residential market, Swindon is in a position to fare well.

It would of course be untrue to say that the economic difficulties of recent months haven’t impacted on plans for the town centre, but in staying positive and re-assessing the viability of regeneration schemes, the town has managed to weather the  economic storm.

Improving Swindon’s public realm
In a bid to keep things moving, the town has placed a large focus on improving public realm facilities in order to provide a better environment for proposed new town centre developments.

Public spaces – those outdoor facilities that are used by shoppers, visitors, and workers every day – are essential elements in creating a distinctive and positive perception in any town centre. In offering a better environment for those who use town centres, and providing better settings for new developments which are being created as part of regeneration frameworks around the UK, truly successful redevelopment can be ensured which will have a long-term positive effect.

Swindon has aspirations to create a twenty-first century town centre that offers a real pull to shoppers, workers and those who may want to live here. Careful design and management of public areas can result in increased footfall in town centres, specifically in terms of the retail and business sectors – and in increasing demand for these, we can ensure that uptake of space in new mixed use developments will be high.

Development of Swindon’s public realm has been ongoing for several years, as Swindon Borough Council, the Commissioning Authority, drives forward the agenda for change.

Already a real difference can be noticed. Swindon’s first major outdoor project was completed in 2008, as the town reached a milestone with the delivery of Wharf Green. This development includes new and improved public realm – paving, street furniture, lighting and public facility refurbishment, things that are of real benefit to local people. The area is now cleaner, more useable and has a much safer feel about it and is attracting more and more people every day. A key part of Wharf Green is Big Screen Swindon – the giant BBC screen which is used to broadcast live events and a mixture of local and national material. 

Step two is the development of Canal Walk – a £3.9m scheme to improve one of Swindon’s busiest shopping streets, which has been made possible by Government Growth Point Funding and a £2.8m contribution from the South West Regional Development Agency. Already underway, this new public area will provide a vibrant, accessible street scene, encouraging visitors and shoppers to come to Swindon as an exciting destination in its own right – as well as a major shopping area.

In making this massive investment into the improvement of Canal Walk, the aim is to provide benefits for all who use the town centre. Work will focus around a clear design ethos. A clean, uncomplicated and simple design has been created to transform the staid and dated character of the existing street. The design combines the key themes of nature, climate and technology, and will bring with it a new water feature, living green walls and street lighting that changes colour depending on weather conditions.

With Canal Walk due for completion in March 2010, plans are already underway for the next phase of public realm development. Work will begin in early next year on Regent Street. Using the history of the area for inspiration, plans have been created focusing on the old trams that once travelled up and down the street, and new outdoor facilities will have somewhat of a heritage railway feel as a result of the development of paving and groundwork symbolising old tram lines. Further improvements will include interactive lighting, new street benches, new trees and the removal of old, all of which will de-clutter the area and encourage full use of the street.

A better shopping environment will be provided by modernising pedestrian streets, providing a unique identity and quality experience through the use of good design and integrated art work. Reconnecting the town centre with the surrounding countryside is a key idea, as well as improving Swindon’s economic sustainability by revitalising the shopping area and encouraging inward investment. Public areas are the lynch-pin of any redevelopment project – streetscapes link every street, square and alley in a town centre and the better the quality, the more successful that it will be.

Proposed developments
As well as the dramatic improvements being made to Swindon’s outdoor facilities, the regeneration has taken several significant steps forward recently with the ongoing planning of Union Square, the former Swindon College site and a new town centre BHS scheme.

This time last year, Muse Developments Ltd signed a formal Development Agreement to deliver Union Square, a £350m high quality mixed-use development which will be situated on a strategic town centre site connecting the railway station and transport hub with the retail area of the town.

The single biggest property deal to have been signed in the South West over the past 12 months, Union Square will be a flagship regeneration project for the town centre, which will provide up to 160,000 sq m of high quality new offices and new homes. It will also help to rejuvenate the town’s leisure opportunities, providing new shops, restaurants, cafes and a new hotel, creating a safe and vibrant family friendly area.

Despite the economic gloom, plans for Union Square have been progressing well. A detailed planning application for phase one of the development – which will comprise of 45 sheltered dwelling units, a new Primary Health Care Trust facility and a multi-storey car park – is due to be submitted very shortly. Work will hopefully start on site in summer 2010. An outline planning application for the rest of the development is due early in 2010, with phase two of the scheme beginning in the latter part of 2011, bringing an array of new offices and public realm facilities to life.

Plans are also progressing for a long awaited development on the former Swindon College site. With discussions ongoing to finalise details for this entertainment and leisure-led scheme. With a planning application in the near future, the site will ultimately deliver a seven screen cinema, a variety of bars and restaurants and a brand new supermarket.

In the more immediate future, work is due to begin on site early in January 2010 for a new BHS development. With three units due to be completed by next summer, this scheme will be anchored by a new BHS store, supported by five further retail outlets – 70 percent of which have been already pre-let.

Looking to the future
The vision for Swindon is to create a town centre that is attractive to visitors, workers and local residents alike – and it’s clear to see that the town is well on its way to realising this goal.

One success already has been the completion of Swindon Central Library, which officially opened last year. Since then, the building has received a commendation in the RICS sustainability awards, has won the South West Region Sustainability Award and has been classified as BREEAM excellent. This much needed facility has been a huge success and is being used by local people every day – certainly an achievement to be proud of.

It is these types of successes Swindon want to keep delivering. With such a huge potential, there is a lot to get excited about the town’s future.

Councillor Phil Young, Lead Member for Regeneration, at Swindon Borough Council