Nobody is looking forward to the inevitable disruption which will follow the £33m project to revamp Fleming Way and rejuvenate a key area of the town centre.

But, while some are sceptical, others feel the pain will be worth it if the improvements actually come about.

After initial enabling work on Fleming Way has been completed contractors for Swindon Borough Council have started work on the scheme which will run until 2024.

By the time it’s competed the road will have become a public transport hub, closed to private motor traffic to allow every bus which operates in Swindon to use it as a stopping point – and the entire road will have been lowered, to allow easier access from the shopping centre of the town without having to sue an uninviting underpass.

Fleming Way is still in operation for both cars and buses at the moment – work is centred on the roundabout at the junction with Fleet Street but this minimal disruption will be significantly increased over the next two years.

Young mum Julia Stoop, pushing her 18-month-old son in a buggy, was one who had relatively high hopes.

She said: “I don’t have a car at the moment, and it’s hard to get around without one, so any way that they can make improvements to public transport is going to be worth it.

“It’s sensible to start getting away from driving and making it quicker to get a bus is a good way of doing that.”

Margaret Dixon hoped the plan achieved its aims in revitalising the business district and linking it to the town centre.

She said: “This end of town is looking really run down now, so something needs doing.”

But Bob Brewer is more pessimistic.

He said: “They’re always digging something up here. There’s all the work they did on the White Hart and London Road, now there’s this.

“I don’t think making it more difficult to get into town is what the businesses here need, especially coming out of Covid.

"There needs to be more support from the town centre, not more roadworks.”

But Paul Morris was upbeat, getting off his bicycle.

“That subway is horrible," he said. "And making this a better place for everyone who’s not in a car will be better for the area and better for everyone.”

Central government awarded the council £25m for the scheme and work is expected to continue until 2024.