THE future of the firm paid £1m a year to bring investment into Swindon town centre will be decided tonight.

Cabinet members are likely to allow Forward Swindon to continue in its current position, but there are question marks over its future funding arrangements.

The company is wholly owned and funded by Swindon Borough Council but it operates at arm’s length.

Following fierce criticism for failing to deliver on a number of proposals, the council are looking at ways the company can be self-funded.

Ian Larrard, director of the Swindon and Wiltshire initiative at Business West, told the BBC this morning that Forward Swindon has “done some good, but it has been a very poor pace of delivery of projects, and that’s led to a lot of frustration within the business community”.

In October, the council appointed an independent company to carry out a review of town centre regeneration.

V4 Services concluded that steps needed to be taken to bring Forward Swindon “more clearly under council control”.

The meeting takes place at 6pm at the council offices in Euclid Street and is open to members of the public.