SWINDON can look forward to a new-look Regent Circus, rock and roll and a General Election battle this year.

Early 2015 will be dominated by the long-awaited opening of Regent Circus, but look out also for the return of Paul Weller and the tightly-contested General Election, with voters set to go to the polls in May.

It has been almost three years since the redevelopment work at the former site of Swindon College, but the town will finally have full use of the complex in the coming months.

Morrisons was the first business at the leisure complex to start trading when it opened its doors in October.

And since then there has been much speculation and various dates bandied around as to when the public will be able to use the restaurants and cinema on-site.

Ask Italian, with its first branch in the town, confidently set out its stall as the first restaurant to open, with an as-yet-unannounced launch date expected this month.

For film fans, Cineworld has pinned February 6 to its mast, but the opening of Prezzo, Nando’s, Coal Grill & Bar and Jimmy Spices have all yet to be disclosed.

Meanwhile, UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT), the firm which bought Regent Circus from developer Ashfield Land last August, is also redeveloping one of its units in The Parade.

A fashion operator already present in the town, which the Adver expects to be H&M, is due to move into a new, flagship store this summer.

As ever, building work and new projects will always dominate the public’s attention, with progress likely at the former site of Even Swindon Primary School in Rodbourne.

After consultation with the public last autumn, it is expected Swindon Council will market the former allotment site between Great Western Way and Barnfield Close, and the former Hughes Street school site in the near future.

The public has steered the direction of planning, but any interested parties in developing the sites will not be revealed until Easter at the earliest.

In the entertainment sector, Swindon can expect one of its biggest concerts for years, with the visit of Paul Weller to Oasis Leisure Centre on Friday, March 6.

His 14-date UK tour, with the second stop in Swindon, was announced in early December with his vision for visiting the nation’s often-ignored venues.

But the political landscape will head to the top of the agenda throughout the first half of year, with the future of Swindon also dependant on the results of this year’s General Election, which takes place on May 7.

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson will attempt to defend his 7,060 majority, and South Swindon MP Robert Buckland will fight for his slimmer 3,544 lead.

In the very near future Karen Edwards, the mother of murdered Becky Godden-Edwards, will have an audience at 10 Downing Street in a call for justice reform.

Karen has spent 18 months campaigning for changes in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act after a conviction could not be brought against her daughter’s killer.

She will visit the Prime Minister’s offices on January 14.

Elsewhere, three murder trials from our area are expected to take place at Bristol Crown Court in 2015.

Jason Voong, 28, of Southbrook Street Extension in Ferndale, is accused of murdering 60-year-old pub worker Aulton ‘Tom’ Rogers and attempting to murder Leanne James.

Patricia Hindle, 29, of Crombey Street, is accused of murdering 62-year-old Michael Redpath after a house fire in Albion Street last September.

Timothy Crook, 50, is accused of murdering his parents, Robert and Elsie, in July 2007, but concerns over his mental health prevented him from pleading until November.

Voong is pencilled in for April 13, Hindle from March and Crook for July 6.