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Fears grow for future of institute
7:00am Wednesday 17th October 2007
EMPTY Victorian building The Mechanics' Institute has been placed on another at-risk register.
The listed boarded-up institute, pictured, stands in Swindon's Emlyn Square.
Now building conservation charity the Victorian Society has named the building as one of the country's 10 most endangered buildings.
It has been on English Heritage's at-risk register since 1999.
"The treatment of the Swindon Mechanics' Institute is shocking," said Dr Ian Dungavell, director of the Victorian Society.
"The building is a regional landmark as well as a significant piece of national heritage and yet it has been left to rot.
"The council must take action to save the institute before this historical and architectural gem is lost for good.
"Often the hardest buildings to protect are those that are simply locked up and left, like the Mechanics' Institute."
Campaign group The New Mechanics' Trust is fighting to preserve the building for a community use, while owner Mathew Singh wants to develop a hotel on the site.
His most recent plan involved demolishing part of the Grade II* Listed building.
But planners dismissed the scheme because it involved knocking down the north side of the building.
Since then the future of the building has been in limbo.
Last month, Mr Singh made an impassioned plea for the council's planning officers to help him draw up plans suitable to the council and English Heritage.
Daniel Rose, chairman of The New Mechanics' Trust, said: "The Victorian Society's decision will create some publicity for us and for the issue.
"Part of our struggle has been being heard and understood.
"My hope is that by the Victorian Society getting involved and putting the Mechanics' building on its list, the council will sit up and think.
"It will start to say maybe we should have a more serious conversation with the trust'.
"The owner of this building is in a corner.
"And it isn't the responsibility of the council to bail him out by letting him do something unacceptable.
"The Victorian Society's decision pushes him further into that corner."
Mr Singh was unavailable for comment.
Your Say YourSwindon
Amused, Happy Land says...
9:47am Wed 17 Oct 07
We could use it as our headquarters.....
Morning
alan, Swindon says...
9:49am Wed 17 Oct 07
adam, Swindon says...
9:50am Wed 17 Oct 07
What will it take for SBC to approve ANYTHING!! Put forward by him. I thought that SBC were supposed to be here to for the good of this town.
alan, Swindon says...
9:55am Wed 17 Oct 07
adam wrote:SBC have approved permission for the Mechanics Institution Preservation Trust to restore the building and put it back in to use for the public for many different uses, the can and will approve some things. The problem is that this building is one of the highest rated and most important listed buildings in the country, as support from the Victorian Society proves. Mr Singh wants to run his hotel business in the building but to do so he MUST completely demolish historic parts of the building, the Council cannot give permission for this as national bodies such as English Heritage and the Victorian Society would block the work to rightly protect our heritage. It seems the only solution to save this building is for SBC to purchase the building and work on putting it back in to public use.
I feel nothing but symphony for Mr Singh.
What will it take for SBC to approve ANYTHING!! Put forward by him. I thought that SBC were supposed to be here to for the good of this town.
Voice of Reason, The Parks says...
10:13am Wed 17 Oct 07
Jason, says...
10:16am Wed 17 Oct 07
Robert Owen set up cotton mills, but believed the working classes should be educated and looked after, in return for their labour. Minard Rea did exactly the same via the Mechanics Institute.
New Lanark is now an excellent world heritage centre, whereas most people living in Swindon haven't even heard of Minard Rea.
New Lanark was a cotton mill that brought about national reforms, whereas The Mechanics' did exactly the same, but was also related to The Great Western Railway and Brunel. It's time for Swindon to stop selling out to developers and maintain some civic pride.
How can a ten storey tower block be in keeping with the railway village?
The first excuse will be lack of funds, but we're spending £50 million on a canal?
Tobz, says...
10:40am Wed 17 Oct 07
I feel nothing but symphony for Mr Singh.
Me too
Da da-da-da- da da da-da-da da
Jason, says...
10:53am Wed 17 Oct 07
Or...........
We could use it as our headquarters.....
That would be ideal, as it has an observation tower.
On a slightly different note, as my van is a Citroen Dispatch, I'd like to change my hero name to "The Dispatcher ". Got more of a bite to it don't you think.
Jason, says...
11:13am Wed 17 Oct 07
I feel nothing but symphony for Mr Singh.
Ha Ha Ha!
I don't.
When's he going to finish tiling that roof? Those battens have been exposed for years.
I thought I was slow tiling my bathroom!
Al Smith, Swindon, UK says...
11:23am Wed 17 Oct 07
Guess what happened? The usual suspects started crying and the proposal was killed by Thamesdown council by them insisting that a certain number of parking spaces need to be provided.
Similar situation with the locarno, if the nightclub or whatever it was had been built chances are the place would never of burnt down...
Jason, says...
11:29am Wed 17 Oct 07
SBC have approved permission for the Mechanics Institution Preservation Trust to restore the building and put it back in to use for the public for many different uses, the can and will approve some things. The problem is that this building is one of the highest rated and most important listed buildings in the country, as support from the Victorian Society proves. Mr Singh wants to run his hotel business in the building but to do so he MUST completely demolish historic parts of the building, the Council cannot give permission for this as national bodies such as English Heritage and the Victorian Society would block the work to rightly protect our heritage. It seems the only solution to save this building is for SBC to purchase the building and work on putting it back in to public use.
Save some of the £50 million from the canal project, and give Swindon it's own answer to New Lanark World Heritage Site
alan, Swindon says...
11:30am Wed 17 Oct 07
Jason wrote:Absolutely, he is happy for the most important building in Swindon to just be left to rot with no attempt to protect it. This tells us a lot about the man and his hollow promises to protect the building and do the right thing. Sell the building to somebody who cares Mr. Singh.
I feel nothing but symphony for Mr Singh.
Ha Ha Ha!
I don't.
When's he going to finish tiling that roof? Those battens have been exposed for years.
I thought I was slow tiling my bathroom!
Donkey, Swindon says...
4:46pm Wed 17 Oct 07
They could actually negotiate and do something about the building, which still exists, rather than throw money at a pile of old stones and a ludocrous canal pipe dream, which will isolate many residents along the route.
Amused, Happy Land says...
7:35pm Wed 17 Oct 07
Jason wrote:I like it, I like it a lot.
Amused wroteOr........... We could use it as our headquarters.....That would be ideal, as it has an observation tower. On a slightly different note, as my van is a Citroen Dispatch, I'd like to change my hero name to "The Dispatcher ". Got more of a bite to it don't you think.
You could be in charge of dispatching the undesirables to places out of town. Then leaving them to find there own way back (If they manage to untie themselves of course!)
Your sayYourSwindon
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Voice of Reason, The Parks says...
9:39am Wed 17 Oct 07