Another week, another survey and more good news for Swindon. A national survey shows Swindon is the number one for property demand in the UK. Carried out by an online estate agent the index compares the number of homes for sale with the number sold and Swindon’s rate is nearly the double the UK average.

In many ways this comes as no surprise. Many of our ambassadors who are in involved in the property market have been saying that things have been really positive and showing no sign of slowing up. For aspiring homeowners, those looking to buy their first home or move up the housing ladder Swindon is an ideal location.

We have been working with some of our ambassadors to develop a specific campaign to target those who are thinking of moving to make sure that Swindon is top of their list of destinations. More details to follow in the next few weeks but so far the insight to inform the campaign confirms just how competitive Swindon is.

More and more people are making the decision to move based on work life balance, quality of life and of course affordability. Swindon ticks all of those boxes along with a diverse mix of work opportunities being a hotbed of micro-businesses, entrepreneurs, SME’s and home to global brands. From an economic point of view the more attractive Swindon is as a place to live the better our available workforce is which makes it easier to attract new businesses.

If you are a budding entrepreneur then you’ll be interested in the Pop-up Business School coming to Swindon offering free places for business masterclasses. If you’ve ever thought about setting up your own business then it is well worth going along to the Brunel Shopping Centre in Swindon from 30 April to 11 May.

Emerging entrepreneurs can learn about how to establish a business, with a wide range of sessions including covering topics like marketing, selling and pricing to law, negotiating and networking.

To find out more and to book a place go to www.popupbusinessschool.co.uk/wiltshire It was really exciting to find out more aboutan event later this year that the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, Nicky Alberry, is organising, a one-off spectacular performance which celebrates Swindon and its journey on October the 6th at the Wyvern Theatre.

The show will feature a mix of newly commissioned dance and orchestral works, along with well-known pieces, all performed by talented Swindon artists, some returning to the town specially to take part.

It’s themed around the story of Swindon, and Swindon folk, and told through the eyes of ‘The Hammerman Poet’ – Alfred Williams, a poet and author born in 1877, into poverty. Working in the harsh conditions of the Great Western Railway works, he later served his country in WWI and became enraptured by India, a culture that influenced him for the rest of his days.

This is a must see celebration of Swindon’s history and current cultural diversity which Switch on to Swindon is fully supporting and have bought a block of tickets which we’ll make available to ambassadors in the next few weeks. If you want to get in quick though and secure a ticket now then got to the Wyvern Theatre box office.

Finally, save the date for our Switch on to Swindon summer spectacular event, 6-8pm on June 14. More details to follow next week.