A charity has hit out over regeneration plans for Swindon, urging planners to give residents what they want.

The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust believes the current vision for the regeneration of the town is ‘missing a once in a lifetime opportunity’ to maximise the impact of a restored waterway.

Forward Swindon, the company established by Swindon Council to deliver economic growth and property development in the town, has been consulting on a masterplan which would include bringing the canal back into the town through North Star as far as a basin adjacent to Station Road. Crucially, it omitted linking this section to the restored canal at Westleaze which resulted in the charity urging the developers to go back to the drawing board.

But last week Ian Piper, the chief executive of Forward Swindon, said public comments from the consultation on the draft masterplan are being processed and there was a strong, generally favourable response to the plan to transform the town over the next 15 years.

However, Chris Coyle, company secretary at the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust, said the regeneration firm had given a misleading impression about the strength of the feeling in support of the canal, as expressed in the consultation.

“Everyone has known for years that Swindon needs a major shake-up, so anything is going to be welcomed as a step forward. “Forward Swindon has failed to come up with anything inspiring or to catch the public imagination,” he said in an open letter to the firm.

“Saying that ‘we have had comments regarding the canal not being shown as a through route’ grossly understates the number and weight of the very positive support for the canal in the responses to the consultation.”

Chris said supporters included the Wiltshire Swindon and Oxfordshire Canal Partnership, representing every local authority along the line, sporting and leisure associations such as Sustrans and Canoe England, the Environ-ment Agency and Natural England.

“Very importantly the businesses of Swindon are lending their strong support,” he said.

“There have also been well over a hundred individual expressions of support. “Perhaps it is time to remind Forward Swindon that its purpose and objective is to deliver what Swindon wants, not to frustrate it. Swindon wants the canal, as expressed in official Swindon Borough planning policy and strategy. Swindon business wants it. National sporting and leisure bodies want it. Oxfordshire and Wiltshire Councils want it. The people of Swindon want it. It’s time to start work on delivering it.”

Economic growth comes first in Masterplan

Forward Swindon chief executive Ian Piper said views were sought on five targeted areas for improvements to the town centre, including creating a new and enlarged centre for performing arts and better links across the railway line which currently divides two areas in the town. Another item on the wish list was the creation of more green spaces.

The focus of the masterplan is economic growth and once the final version is approved by the council, Forward Swindon says it will influence future development proposals and give potential investors the confidence to invest in the town.

Mr Piper said: “From talking to residents, I think the key message is generally positive.

“They think the priorities appear to be right and the main message is, ‘Get on with it, we like what’s there.’ “We had a lot of comments regarding the canal and the fact that the whole length of it isn’t shown on the plan.

“So I’ve explained that in putting the draft plan together it was thought it was not deliverable throughout its whole length throughout the plan’s 15 year timescale.

“But it’s still the protected route in the current documents and the canal route is still referred to in the draft local plan that will be coming out to consultation again soon.”

Forward Swindon will review the public comments and recommend how the draft masterplan should be changed to a cross-party group at Swindon Council.

That group will make any changess before it is submitted to the planning committee.

The altered masterplan will come out to a statutory consultation, with the aim of it being adopted in summer 2013.