The government wants to give Swindon £25m, one of its senior members says.

But at the moment no more than £173,000 of the Towns Fund has been promised to the borough council.

That's to allow the authority to put together a proper bid for a share of the money - Swindon is one of 100 towns in England eligible to bid for up to £25m from the £3.6bn pot.

The secretary of state for housing and communities Rob Jenrick visited Swindon to see what the council might do with the money, if it is successful.

He was shown around the centre by senior Conservative councillors - deputy leader Russell Holland and member for the town centre Dale Heenan and South Swindon MP, and fellow secretary of state Robert Buckland.

He said: "We want Swindon to be successful in its bid, we want to give it as much of the £25m we can and I'd be very surprised if Swindon didn't have a successful bid."

Mr Jenrick said cultural offerings as part of regeneration and bringing more and better jobs to the town would be something his team would want to see.

He added: "I very much want the people of Swindon to have their say and gave their voice heard on what to do with this money. It's their town and their town's future and it's important they have their say."

Coun Heenan and Holland escorted Mr Jenrick from the railway station along Wellington Street, where they pointed out the recent renovations, to the Kimmerfields development and then to the Wyvern Theatre before heading up to Old Town.

Coun Heenan said: "We'll be bidding for the full £25m. The rest of the Kimmerfields site and the cultural quarter, a new expanded Wyvern Theatre and museum and art gallery will be part of it.

"There's a discussion to be had on whether you spend it all on one project to get it right, or smaller amounts on more things."

Swindon's plans must be submitted by next summer with decisions later next year.

Not everyone impressed - South Swindon labour candidate Sarah Church thinks the announcement and visit smacks of electioneering.

She said: "No money has yet been promised to Swindon and it seems a coincidence this is announced at the start of an election campaign. We could have done with it before, and I hope these promises last beyond the election result."

Mr Jenrick rejected that criticism saying the Towns Fund was announced by former PM Theresa May in March.