Council Leader reaches out to landlords to improve rundown area of town centre

Following the recent opening of the new bus interchange and public realm at Fleming Way, the Council is looking at how it can help improve other areas of the town centre to help generate footfall and regenerate rundown areas.

As a result, the local authority’s Inward Investment team has already been working with key stakeholders, including some local landlords to look at what improvements could be made to Fleet Street and Bridge Street over the coming months and years.

This includes upgrading the pedestrian areas by adding street art and new planters, refreshing the paving and installing new lighting.

But, in order for the area to be realised to its full potential once again, it needs the support of all the landowners.

Feedback so far has been positive, and several are now directly engaged in the project. To encourage collaboration with those landowners who have not yet engaged with the Council, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jim Robbins, has written a letter to try and get them to engage with future plans and be part of Swindon’s future.

This includes an invite to an upcoming workshop with local stakeholders at which detailed plans for improvement to the areas will be presented.

Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “This area of Swindon used to be a bustling location with a popular outdoor market and we want to try and bring it back to life.

“Over the last few years, many of the local businesses have closed and its reputation has suffered as a result. We want to change all that and lay the building blocks for Fleet Street and Bridge Street to have a brighter future which people want to spend time and enjoy themselves.

“The team have been working hard to deliver improvements to the area and I’m really hoping landowners in the area will engage with us to accelerate its regeneration. I recently described how we want the area to be an Instagrammable location, promoting local art and cultural organisations and we’ve made a great start with some of our creative talents already engaged in projects we intend to get off the ground in the coming months.

“There’s only so much we can do to improve the public realm, which is why we need help from the private owners of the land and buildings to fully regenerate this underappreciated area of the town centre.”