Two empty shops in the town centre can be demolished.

Swindon Borough Council’s planners have given the authority permission to knock down 36 and 37 Regent Street, two shops close to The Savoy pub.

The council wants to make an ‘improved gateway’ to what it hopes to build as a cultural quarter behind the area – it has ambitious plans to rebuild the Wyvern Theatre as a much bigger venue, adding a space to house both the Swindon Art Gallery and Museum, which will move from its Old Town home, and even council and committee meetings.

The council now has permission to start the work within three years, but must do it between 8am and 6pm on weekdays and Saturday mornings.

But not everyone is enthused by the idea, with some thinking it is a hasty move to knock down buildings without a more developed plan for the area.

Chris Gilbert, who lives in Haydon Wick, said: “The council’s proposal seems to lack any reasonable detailed justification and citing the benefit for a future ‘cultural quarter’ development seems to be wildly aspirational at best. If there is strong evidence why these historic buildings are no longer viable and the public best interest is served by their demolition, in my opinion that case yet to be made.

Another objection was made by John Ayres, who said: “It is incredibly wasteful to demolish these two heritage assets with a plan to leave the space empty, to replace them with nothing. It is destruction without purpose. The sole future justification given is that it may one day provide a path to a yet embryonic cultural project that may never be realised or that may be changed entirely.

"Until any plan is finalised, it will be a path to nowhere.”

A council spokesman said: “We appreciate that there have been some people claiming these are heritage buildings, but anyone who walks past can see they aren’t. A building is not classified as a heritage asset purely because of age. The buildings have no particular architectural merit and are not identified as buildings of local significance in any heritage assessment.

“An independent survey of the two buildings has shown that there are significant problems, including structural defects that will not be easy to fix. In fact, it is estimated the bill to remedy the structural issues and get the building back into a usable condition for future use could cost more in taxpayers’ money than the buildings are worth.

“Added to this is that the demand for retail or commercial use is simply not there, and it is clear that repairing and refurbishing the buildings is not a worthwhile investment. Plans for the future potential use of the area are still being developed, but in the meantime, their demolition is something that needs to happen.”