WE spent £1m on a youth centre that isn’t used by youths, a prominent councillor has said.

Coun Bob Wright (Lab) spoke despairingly about the £1m Platform project which launched in 2010 and was supposed to become a popular spot for youngsters.

But the Platform, located in the former railway museum in Faringdon Road, has now been described as a “missed opportunity”.

Coun Wright said: “The Platform doesn’t seem to be giving back to the town what it originally promised. It has never realised the opportunities it offered. Essentially, we spent £1m on a youth centre that isn’t used by youths.”

The Platform has been described by Swindon Borough Council as “the town’s music centre” and is used by the Swindon Music Service, which provides music provision to youngsters.

It is also used by theatre groups and others to host performing arts productions, though the absence of a suitable stage meant that a recent performance of the Martin Sherman play Bent by TS Theatre left some audience members unable to see or hear the production.

Coun Wright also drew attention to Theatre Square as a place that was “difficult to maintain”, after which he concluded that “maintenance has been a big issue for the council”.

Coun Jim Robbins (Lab) also drew attention to the council record on Lydiard House, where a recent survey undertaken by the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust found that almost £5m of backlog maintenance works were required to bring the house up to a reasonable standard.

In response to Coun Wright’s suggestion that the council ought to be doing more to ensure a proper return on publicly held assets, Coun Russell Holland, the cabinet member for finance and commercialisation, said that although long-term viability is important, not all buildings should be geared towards making money.

He said: “The commercialisation approach is about making money, but it may sometimes be about other things such as ensuring assets are regenerated and kept in use.”

He added: “As the cabinet member, I would review the business case, but it’s not a science – it’s a judgement call that needs to be carefully considered.”

Coun Holland defended the council’s record on maintaining its assets, saying: “Overall, I think we do a very good job in that regard.”