A SENIOR Labour councillor has criticised the Conservative administration at Swindon Borough Council for turning its nose up at the Destination Swindon plan.

Last week it was revealed that the council hadn’t taken up wealthy businessman Dr Laurie Marsh on his proposal to invest £750 million into Swindon. The scheme could have seen a charitable trust set up to fund a university campus, a new theatre and even a monorail.

The council said the plan wasn’t substantial enough with no solid proposals, and the cabinet member for the town centre Dale Heenan called it a “fanciful idea.”

Bob Wright, Labour's councillor for the Central ward, which covers the town centre, has hit back.

In an open letter to “the residents of Swindon” Coun Wright said: “When is another offer going to come along like this and what message does it send to potential investors in Swindon when it turns down something of this significance? Are the council forgetting the beneficiaries which will be the residents of Swindon residents with no cost to the taxpayers except for the use of existing assets?”

He takes issue with Coun Heenan’s phrase "fanciful idea" – saying Tories have had some unlikely plans of their own: “It appears that the Conservative administration has a case of selective amnesia when it comes to fanciful ideas. Who can forget Digital City returning £700,000 for a £1m investment or a £15m car park that was going to help bring 1,500 new jobs to the town centre?”

But he does suggest that the council has done good work in attracting investment, adding: “Cross-party we look forward to the council’s North Star development delivering on a long lease and land to enable a large-scale private investment and snow centre.”

Coun Wright says the existing deal between Euclid Street and Historic England on the Railway Village Heritage Action Zone is probably the closest thing to Dr Marsh’s charitable finance initiative: “The principles for the HAZ is to use third party investment principles with existing council assets such as the Platform and Milton Road Baths. To quote Rebecca Barrett, regional director of Historic England 'the Swindon Heritage Action Zone will capitalise on the town’s proud railway heritage and make it easy for investors and developers to bring jobs, homes and visitors here'.

“The attraction of the HAZ to the investor being our rich heritage which is “full of promise” and to make it a more attractive place to residents, businesses, tourists and investors. The council has already signed up to the use of our assets for regeneration in order for the Heritage Action Zone to pool the skills and resources of a number of partners. This scheme already depends and works with volunteers and charities. So far from the Destination Swindon scheme being fanciful it appears the council has no credible reason not to explore a £1.5 billion scheme.”

Coun Heenan responded: “I think it is great that senior Labour councillors are finally advocating an idea – misguided, but at least it’s something to debate the positives and negatives of. Labour are known for what they vote against, like the ski slope, instead of what they are willing to vote for. The constant sniping and negativity in the local media makes it harder for successful development to happen so let’s move on.

“The Conservatives are happy to debate the positives and negatives of Labour’s vision to compulsory purchase nearly 500 buildings to build a monorail, university, and canal but the best way to do that is not through the local media. If something sounds too good to be true, it generally is, and a monorail that loses £1m a year – really, that’s a serious plan?”