Costly Tabernacle stones lie unused (From Swindon Advertiser)

Costly Tabernacle stones lie unused

9:20am Thursday 17th September 2009 in News By Jeremy Grimaldi

THE 120-year-old columns of a building once dubbed Swindon’s St Paul’s Cathedral are lying out of public sight.

The remains of the tabernacle stones, which formed part of the historic Baptist Tabernacle, in Regent Street, were bought for £360,000 by Swindon Council in 2006.

The council hoped to include the stones as the centrepiece of a £215m regeneration plan for Swindon’s town centre, and had a guarantee it would be reimbursed for the cost of the stones by development partner Modus.

However, Modus went into administration in June of this year, and the stones have been left in storage at the Wroughton Science Museum.

Council leader Rod Bluh said he hoped to secure a deal with any new developer which would cover the cost of the 200 tonne stones.

He added: “To me getting these stones was a very symbolic thing about recognising the mistakes of the past.

“We have knocked a lot of old buildings down here in Swindon - and it really strikes a chord with the older generation who remember the building.”

However, his administration has been criticised for spending the six-figure sum on the monument as opposed to on schools or easing congestion.

Coun Des Moffat (Lab, Western), said he believed the council has lost out on more than £75,000 in interest it could have earned by not spending the £360,000.

He said: “What development company is going to want to put these lumps of rubble in their shiny new development?

“Those stones have been sitting at the science museum for three years, meaning the pile of money they spent on them has been sitting there too.

“Swindon has a need for this capital money in countless areas including fixing schools, and vital work to reduce congestion at Bruce Street Bridges - but now because of one man’s day-dreams it could very well be lost.”

Coun Derique Montaut, the leader of the opposition, said: “Rod Bluh should have had a contingency plan.

“You can’t spend this kind of money and not expect there to be hiccoughs.

“If you do it is at your own peril – which Coun Bluh now realises.”

Coun Bluh said: “I have no regrets whatsoever – I am prepared to be judged on this.

“This is not how we all would have wished it but it about being positive and moving forward.

“I am confident the stones will form part any revised scheme on that site and we are already working towards that end.”