VITAL repairs that need to be made to Lydiard House will be undertaken within the next two years, it has been confirmed.

The announcement was made in a joint statement issued by Swindon Borough Council and the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust late on Wednesday night.

Since the collapse of the deal, back in February, for the trust to take over the running of Lydiard Park and House, relations between them and the council have at times been quite acrimonious.

But both parties have now agreed to draw a line under their recent disagreements and have vowed to work together to ensure Lydiard has a bright future.

Councillor Keith Williams, who just a fortnight ago took over the Lydiard brief from Coun Garry Perkins, after the latter was moved aside by council leader David Renard, spoke in conciliatory terms.

He said: “But for the legal advice, the council had intended to complete an arrangement with the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust as the preferred bidder. I’m pleased to say that, after a difficult few days, the trust and I are working together on a professional and constructive basis to address both the short and long-term issues at Lydiard.”

Sources have suggested that this new-found agreement could give the trust a degree of control, but councillors have vowed that Lydiard will remain firmly under the council’s jurisdiction – Coun Williams at the weekend promised to resign if it were ever sold or leased to a private company.

Under the agreement, the council has promised that “maintenance and repair works agreed by our respective surveyors will be undertaken by the council within two years, with the first phase of works being completed this year”.

Mike Bowden, chairman of the trust, said: “The trust’s primary focus has been and remains the safeguarding of Lydiard for the people of Swindon and future generations.

“Despite recent events, we remain keen to work with SBC and we welcome Coun Williams’ appointment.”

He added: “We are optimistic that working sensibly together we can find an appropriate structure or arrangement which will provide a long-term sustainable future for the house and park.”

The council has also promised to “use their very best endeavours” to ensure the Lydiard Conference Centre remains fully operational under local authority management upon the departure of current tenants Chartridge in April.

The council also agreed to work within the set of ‘red lines’ laid out by the trust in 2016.

Decisions still need to be made in terms of funding, and we will likely know more in the coming weeks. Further maintenance work will likely be funded by the revenue generated within the Lydiard Park estate.