THE organisation charged with delivering on the council’s ambitious regeneration agenda has released its long-awaited vision for the town centre.

Forward Swindon, the council-owned development company, is responsible for turning around the fortunes of huge swathes of Swindon.

Its plans for the Railway Village, the station approach, Kimmerfields and Aspen House have been shrouded in secrecy as negotiations with developers continued.

The lack of information has fuelled public frustration and many, including the town’s MPs, have urged Forward Swindon to get on and deliver or move out of the way and let someone else do the job.

But this week, in a move it hopes will reassure people about its commitment, the team has launched its new website featuring an ambitious masterplan for town centre development.

While the vision is very much a long-term one, the public could start to see movement on some key projects within a few months.

Builders are expected to move into the Carriage Works by May after planning permission was granted for the first part of a three-phase plan to convert it into an exciting hub for technology firms, small businesses, entrepreneurs and the creative industries.

Phase one will see 9,845 sq ft of the building transformed into a shared hot desking workspace to accommodate local companies, including Forward Swindon themselves.

Phase two will see the remaining 47,000 sq ft of the west shed converted to create a flexible multi-use space for small and large businesses from the digital arts and learning, to artist studios and the creative industries. A yard space and cafe between the east and west buildings will be used for outdoor events.

In the longer term, the third and final phase will see work get underway on the 58,556 sq ft east shed. It has been earmarked for a similar mix of businesses, tech companies, start-ups and SMEs needing an affordable, flexible workspace in easy reach of the station, London and Bristol.

The hope is that transforming the Carriage Works will be the key that opens up opportunities to regenerate the remainder of the historic quarter, including the Mechanics’ Institute – a building that never fails to provoke emotion and which carries with it so much of the town’s history.

Forward Swindon argues that if the now-derelict site is to stand a chance of attracting the funding required to bring it back to life, it will be the economic and commercial success of the surrounding area that makes it possible.

With the wider area in mind, funding has also been sought to make drastic changes to the tired looking Bristol Street tunnel that links the Carriage Works and the Mechanics with the much-lauded Railway Quarter to the north.

Ambitious plans could see it turned from a dark concrete-walled underpass into an unrecognisable space with walls and a roof made of glass.

Paul Chamberlain, Forward Swindon’s director of new development partnerships, said: “The delivery plan has been under wraps due to commercial sensitivities whilst we concluded a series of land deals.

“We are pleased to finally share more detail on our proposals, now we have a new team in place and can start to demonstrate delivery. For example we’ve just received planning approval for the first phase of the Carriage Works and construction work is expected to commence by the end of May.”