Work on new leisure and retail site to begin in May (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Work on new leisure and retail site to begin in May
9:10am Thursday 21st March 2013 in News
Work on new leisure and retail site to begin in May
WORK to transform the derelict former Swindon College site into a £50m retail and leisure development will start in May, it has been announced.
The scheme in Regent Circus, which will include a Morrisons, eight restaurants and bars, a six-screen digital cinema and a 450- space car park, is expected to be completed in the autumn next year.
The Ashfield Land development will also include Ask, Nando’s and Prezzo, and will create hundreds of new jobs.
Ashfield Land’s managing director, Andrew Fisher, said: “I can confirm that demolition and site clearance is now complete and the construction of our Regent Circus mixed use development will get under way in May, marking the beginning of the complete transformation of this part of Swindon town centre.
“We are excited at the prospect of seeing the scheme begin to take shape this year and we envisage that it will be completed and open before the end of 2014.
“Despite the tough economic climate that still prevails we have always been determined to deliver on our promise to provide Swindon with a first class retail and leisure destination.
“With the support of major companies such as Morrisons and Cineworld our significant investment will result in the regeneration of what was a dilapidated area of the town centre and promises to create hundreds of jobs for local people.”
The last piece of the old Swindon College building was pulled down in August last year.
Ashfield Land acquired the freehold of the site in 2006 which facilitated Swindon College’s relocation to a new £17m campus.
Construction contractors ISG will start work on the private sector regeneration project in May.
South Swindon MP Robert Buckland said: “This is a welcome step forward for the regeneration of our town centre and I’m delighted that we have a timetable. I am very glad that from late next year we will have new amenities in the town centre.”
North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson who is also vice chairman of the parliamentary retail and town centres group, said: “This is fantastic news for our town centre regeneration.
“This in its own right is a crucial major improvement for our town centre and will help trigger the other potential developments.
“Whenever I have talked to major retailers and developers they have always made it clear as soon as the economy picks up and they are able to access the funds, Swindon is always at the front of the queue for redevelopment.
“They recognise we have more than 300,000 shoppers within 20 minutes and three million within an hour.”
Comments(12)
Tim Newroman
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9:29am Thu 21 Mar 13
A.Baron-Cohen
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9:32am Thu 21 Mar 13
Always Grumpy
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10:07am Thu 21 Mar 13
Poliprat, poor use of English grammar as usual. You're saying for a fact it 'cannot start sooner' then?
Tim Newroman
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10:15am Thu 21 Mar 13
@Always Grumpy: I suspect those shops/premises will end up being taken over once the people who own them get made offers well above the current market price for them once the new development is nearing completion.
A.Baron-Cohen
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10:46am Thu 21 Mar 13
Always Grumpy wrote:My name is Aaron, but you can use ABC if you wish. Please keep your silly nicknames for yourself, I do not agree with you on occasions, but this doesn't have to turn into a puerile exchange of insults.
What a pity all the tacky little shops opposite weren't knocked down and the ones adjacent to Byron Street.
Poliprat, poor use of English grammar as usual. You're saying for a fact it 'cannot start sooner' then?
As for the project in question, yes it cannot start soon enough, sooner the better, any investment is better than none.
It is taking too long for this council to get this sort of capital project off the ground, I think this one will do a lot of good for the town.
Always Grumpy
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10:59am Thu 21 Mar 13
Tim Newroman wrote:I do hope they are re-developed as, in their current state, they certainly won't add anything to the areas looks.
It could start in March or April and be sooner than when it will start (and what's the betting the start date is the very end of May).
@Always Grumpy: I suspect those shops/premises will end up being taken over once the people who own them get made offers well above the current market price for them once the new development is nearing completion.
house on the hill
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1:44pm Thu 21 Mar 13
1 2 Could B
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3:15pm Thu 21 Mar 13
Make a note of the date and the artist's impression
Morsey
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6:24pm Thu 21 Mar 13
At lunchtime, I spotted a man in a yellow reflective stood on the very top of the ground up concrete. He had a theodolite, and he had an assistant carrying the other bit on the pavement by the bus stop coming into Crombey Street.
Were they having a laugh, or what ... can they measure anything from a 'temporary' heap of 'spoil'?
Phantom Poster
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10:34pm Thu 21 Mar 13
Morsey wrote:A theodolite measures horizontal as well as vertical angles.
Hot News!
At lunchtime, I spotted a man in a yellow reflective stood on the very top of the ground up concrete. He had a theodolite, and he had an assistant carrying the other bit on the pavement by the bus stop coming into Crombey Street.
Were they having a laugh, or what ... can they measure anything from a 'temporary' heap of 'spoil'?
1 2 Could B
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12:53pm Fri 22 Mar 13
peatmoor pirate says...
9:19am Thu 21 Mar 13
Seriously, glad this is being built but please do something with the rest of the town centre. Was in there yesterday and was like a ghost town (except for the overly noisy preachers).