We are being robbed of our heritage, says Graham Carter

IF, like me, you are one of those people who likes things to follow a natural order, then I must apologise for what happened last Wednesday.

On that day I made an unexpected appearance in this paper, when normally you would only have to suffer my ramblings on a Monday.

Or, as a so-called friend once told me: “When I see your column in the Adver every Monday, it reminds me I have to put the bins out.”

But last week I also popped up out of order, in a report about a generous grant that Swindon Heritage has been given by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Like hundreds of other local people interested in celebrating, promoting and safeguarding our local history, we normally have no financial backing, but much of this new grant will pay for the printing of a book, which I am looking forward to editing.

You’ll hear more about the project over the next few months, but basically it is all about a vast collection of stuff relating to Jack Dixon, who lived in Swindon from 1899 to 1984.

Jack was a man after my own heart because he never threw anything away, so the 7,000 documents and photographs he left behind tell a fascinating, detailed story of Swindon life in the 20th century.

Local history has all but taken over my life in the last few years, to the point that I am now in the process of stepping back from it so I have time for other interests.

I should also say that Swindon’s heritage can sometimes be as demoralising as Monday mornings.

Many local people recognise and are proud of Swindon’s amazingly rich heritage, and think it is a gift and a unique selling point that could be used to boost the town’s image and draw in more investment.

Unfortunately, the tiny number of people who make decisions about that heritage often seem to be on a different wavelength to the rest of us.

They entertain absurd and insulting schemes, for instance, for turning the nationally important Health Hydro into flats for short-term financial gain.

I wonder if anybody told the Minister of Heritage and Tourism this when she came to Swindon last Thursday.

She was said to be wowed by some of Swindon’s heritage, and was right when she told this paper: “It has to be a partnership. Getting the community involved at the very start... is the key to the success of a project.”

What she clearly hadn’t been told - and nobody in Swindon is better placed than me to say this - is the public is almost never involved in deciding the fate of our local heritage.

The council’s default setting is to keep us in the dark, only ever going through the motions of so-called ‘consultation’ after policies and key decisions are made, if at all.

In the last week I have seen caring, genuinely concerned people cast as dangerous enemies for daring to challenge the decision-makers’ ‘We know best’ approach.

No wonder most people in Swindon who love their heritage feel they are being robbed of it.

I am sorry to say that lack of public engagement over the proposed new museum and art gallery is also the main reason why this potentially huge benefit to the town is failing to get the support it needs from council tax payers.

Swindon has a massive opportunity to cash in on its stunning heritage, and we all stand to benefit, but it will not happen so long as the ones running the show only talk about involving the community, rather than actually sitting down with them and listening.