• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Tuesday March 18 2025
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Swindon regeneration plans showcased at Downing Street and House of Lords

Ambitious plans to regenerate Swindon town centre have been showcased at 10 Downing Street and the House of Lords.

A delegation from Swindon Borough Council took the Heart of Swindon plan to Britain’s most famous front door yesterday (Monday) before showcasing the proposals at a reception for businesses and investors hosted by former Swindon North MP Michael Wills – now Lord Wills – at the House of Lords.

Council leader Jim Robbins said on Tuesday morning that he had been receiving “emails from investors wanting to follow up on discussions started last night.”

Swindon’s MPs Heidi Alexander and Will Stone gave speeches at the event, as did James Watson, regional head of development at Panattoni, the firm that is investing £918 million in converting the former Honda site into a logistics park.

The event was also backed by Business West and supported by Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The Heart of Swindon plan includes proposals to redevelop the Swindon Railway Quarter in what would be one of UK’s largest brownfield regeneration projects, providing high-quality jobs and thousands of new homes.

It contains eight ‘ambitions’ which include:

• A Centre for Living: Creating new, mixed-use neighbourhoods in the heart of the town.
• A Creative Centre: Supporting Swindon’s growing creative community and delivering a new entertainment venue.
• A Centre for Learning: Giving Swindon’s higher education institutions a place in the centre and creating a hub for students.
• A Knowledge Centre: Bringing Swindon’s leading enterprises into the heart of town and providing spaces to support small businesses.
• A Green & Healthy Centre: Investing in and connecting our central parks, along with extensive greening of the centre through tree planting and creation of new pocket parks.
• A Vibrant Centre: Providing a broad mix of shops, places to eat and drink, and community spaces that bring vibrancy throughout the day and into the evening.
• A Connected Centre: Creating stronger connections into the heart of Swindon and between its districts, including across the rail line.
• A Proud Swindon: Committing to creatively re-using Swindon’s historic buildings and to ensure that development responds to the town’s rich history of innovation.

Each ambition is accompanied by a set of propositions that indicate how the ambitions could be realised in practice.

Among the 53 propositions is one that envisages providing up to 5,000 new homes in the town centre, many of which would be affordable.

Another involves exploring the redevelopment of the Brunel Centre, which could include shops, community space, workspaces, homes and public space providing apartment living for students, young people, and those downsizing.

The council is now courting investors with the opportunity to be part of delivering up to 8,000 new homes and amenities to support a Swindon population growing much faster than the national average.

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