ONE of Swindon's best loved venues could soon be reopening its doors.

The Goddard Arms stands on Old Town's High Street and has been closed since summer.

But now the building has a new owner, pub group Barracuda Bars.

And it is ploughing in more than £1m to overhaul the venue.

"We have considerable experience in transforming buildings of local interest and character and bringing them back into public use in a tasteful manner," said Sarah Calderbank, spokeswoman for the Barracuda Group.

"The Goddard Arms is a fantastic building and should we be successful in securing the various permissions, we plan to operate the existing hotel rooms with significant refurbishment, plus a Smith & Jones bar area on the ground floor.

"We aim to open in late summer 2008 and bring around 35 new full and part -time staff to the Old Town area.

"Smith & Jones is a pub operator for Barracuda's pub brand and will bring into Old Town an award-winning menu in a modern and comfortable environment."

The 18thCentury listed venue, pictured above, closed its doors last August.

"We are delighted at the possibility of the Goddard Arms being returned to what it used to be like," said Coun Mike Bawden (Old Town and Lawns).

"From what we know of the company they are well established and if they follow their normal pattern of how they do things, then this should be a welcome opportunity."

Manni Madhani, owner of the Old Bank Brasserie in nearby Wood Street, said: "Old Town is a cultured area and it has some great bars and pubs.

"I don't have an objection to another bar or pub opening up in the area but it depends on the type of establishment it is.

"If it's something that offers cheap drinks and encourages a massive audience into the area, then it might become too congested.

"We already have a lot of redevelopment going on and what the council should be careful about is giving out too many licences. It's okay to open up a business, but views of locals need to be heard."

David Bond, treasurer of the Old Town Business Association said: "I think we need to be very careful that the area doesn't get the same reputation as the bottom of town has.

"While I'm glad that the Goddard Arms site is being used, whether a pub is the right option is something I wonder.

"There's also the concern what residents might think since there are some flats quite close to the Goddard Arms and whether they would approve I'm not sure."