MOVES to create a £10 million college at Swindon’s former railway works have won the backing of heritage chiefs who say the scheme will both enhance and retain the character of the historic site.

The far-reaching plan will see the creation of the Swindon University Technical College for 600 14-19 year-old students on part of the former Great Western Railway works.

The proposals involve transforming a large swathe of the Victorian industrial site located next to St Mark’s church on the other side of the main railway line to the Outlet Village and the STEAM museum.

The plan includes refurbishing two Grade II listed structures; the former GWR School building, dating to 1854, and the 143 year-old water tower – one of Swindon’s most distinctive buildings.

Two other structures within the Swindon Railway Conservation Area considered to be of “significant local importance” – GW1 Building and The Mill – will also be revamped as part of the college.

A further aspect of the scheme will be the erection of a two-storey hub in the heart of the proposed complex which will help link it all together, and include a lecture theatre and dining area.

An existing canopy roof and GWR iron columns will be incorporated into another new build comprising a gym, studio, winter garden and additional teaching space.

Old Town Hall

A DOCUMENT charting the History of Swindon goes before councillors tonight with the aim of sparking one of the town’s most important and eagerly awaited regeneration projects.

The 158-page report outlines the proposed £27 million scheme that will transform the heart of Old Town by bringing back to life Swindon’s derelict and fire-ravaged Old Town Hall and Corn Exchange.

The scheme involves refurbishing the Grade II-listed structures while adding new buildings to create three restaurants, a glass-covered entertainments hall, a basement spa and gym, a cafe, hotel and homes. Crucial to the plan is the revival of Swindon’s historic Market Square, transforming what is now a shabby car park into a key area of public open space, possibly sporting a work of art such as a market cross. The scheme by developer Steve Rosier is widely viewed as being a catalyst which will help reinvigorate other parts of Old Town, where life in Swindon thrived centuries before the arrival of the railway works.

In its weighty document, Swindon Council’s planning department has gone back to earliest civilised life in the town in order to put into the context the importance of the Old Town square’s revival.

It takes us from Swindon’s beginnings, possibly as a 1st Century Roman military encampment through the eras of the Saxons and Normans and its reference in the 1086 Domesday Book as Suindone…..”a hill that was pasture for pigs.”

Swindon’s original 13th Century rectangular grid was outlined by High Street, Newport Street, Devizes Road and Wood Street.

The creation of the Old Town Hall between 1852-54 and the adjoining Corn Exchange – with its now familiar 80ft clock tower - in 1866, reflected the hill-top market town’s growth and status.

The latter is known to countless Swindonians as the Locarno where dances, gigs and even wrestling matches were held during the post-war eras. It later became a bingo hall until fire damaged both structures in 2004, leaving them for almost a decade in the sad state of dereliction they appear today.

All of this, insists Swindon’s planning team, has to be taken into consideration in the light of the proposals to once and for all revitalise the centre of Old Town after years of false starts and dashed hopes.

The report says: “The vision for the Old Town Hall and the Corn Exchange establishes the type of development that the council is seeking and the positive legacy it will set in place.”

The proposed revitalisation of the Victorian structures provides “a key heritage-led regeneration opportunity for Old Town.”

It goes on: “Its redevelopment must deliver a high-quality development which is respectful of the area’s history and character and exemplary in its design quality.

“The vision is to restore the Old Town Hall and Corn Exchange as the heartbeat of Old Town, a place for people to live and work, relax and enjoy.

“It will be a place to appreciate and inspire a more vibrant and sustainable Old Town.”

The document goes before Swindon’s Planning committee this evening. If approved it will become a draft planning brief that will go out for public consultation.

Gaining the approval of English Heritage was crucial to the scheme and the body – which occupies Brunel’s former offices in the GWR site – has now backed the venture.

A report to Swindon councillors tonight says the proposals involved considerable discussion between civic planners and English Heritage.

English Heritage says that the use of a college within the conservation area “seems consistent with the character of the site and area. “The important water tower is to be retained and refurbished and important views to the adjacent St Mark’s church will remain.

“When viewed holistically, these proposals represent an enhancement of the site and the surrounding area. The heritage values of the site will remain intact while allowing a new use which will bring vibrancy to the location.” Some Railway Village residents have expressed concern over potential problems caused by parents dropping off their children at the college.

However, Swindon highways officers say there would be enough parking spaces in the village to cope with the dropping off and picking up of students. Some 70 members of staff, meanwhile, would have to use town centre car parks a 10 to 15 minute walk away.

Two planning applications in relation to the scheme – both submitted by Swindon Council – are set to be granted by the committee.

The Swindon UTC has been hailed “an exciting new concept in engineering education,” giving students the chance to take a “highly regarded, full time, technical course of study” at a “unique, state-funded specialist technical college.”

The first phase is due to open next year. Last month Angela Barker-Dench was appointed as the college head.

Last orders on historic pub site as flats are set to be approved

FOR decades it served Swindon’s Irish community before becoming one of the town’s premier rock venues. But The Ship – which in recent years became 12 Bar before closing last year – has served its last pint. Moves to convert the purpose-built Victorian pub and coaching house onto 11 flats and a shop look certain to be rubberstamped by Swindon councillors tonight despite fears that the site is being over-developed.

The proposals will see the distinctive redbrick corner building which looks onto Faringdon Road Park turned into four ground-floor flats and a shop with a further five flats on the first floor.

A coaching house at the rear, which was built at the same time as the pub around 170 years ago, will be converted to two flats. Situated on the corner of Westcott Place and Birch Street the pub was built in the 1840s when New Swindon was beginning to emerge around the fledgling Great Western Railway works As The Ship it was particularly popular with Swindon’s Irish community, and sometimes doubled as a venue for Irish-themed events.

In more recent years it was revamped as 12 Bar and staged shows both by touring bands and local groups.

However, the steel shutters came down eight months ago when business began to flag.

Developers Patrick Slattery and Christopher O’Connell earlier this year submitted plans to subdivide both the main building and outbuilding. They said there had been a general decline in the viability of pubs, and insisted that little interest had been shown by anyone willing to re-open 12 Bar as licensed premises.

The pair claimed the only viable option for the prominent building was as accommodation with a ground-floor shop.

Central ward Councillor Bob Wright raised concerns over what he felt was the over development of the site, and also the impact of the development on on-street parking.

However, planning officer Heather Carlisle said that, as flats, no parking provision was required. She said residential parking permits would not be issued to the occupants – so it would not affect neighbouring residents. It is the latest in a string of pubs in and around to Swindon to have been hit by the harsh economic climate.

Plans were recently approved to convert the nearby Falcon – which has been closed for more than two years – into four self-contained homes.

Mr O’Connell is also involved in proposals to transform The Bell in Old Town into an arcade of small, independent shops with high quality hostel-style accommodation on the first floor.