THE idea of a Lakeland store in Swindon has “gone off the list.”

Despite some “very initial discussions” with the council’s regeneration arm Forward Swindon, the kitchenware firm has not changed its mind over moving into town since the Adver reported in March it was pulling out.

At the time, regeneration head coun Garry Perkins (Con, Shaw and Nine Elms) said that Forward Swindon would make contact with Lakeland.

And Forward Swindon’s Ian Piper said: “There were some very initial discussions following the publicity around that, but there hasn’t been any further contact with them in recent weeks.”

When called this week, Bob Granger, Lakeland’s director of finance and retail, said: “It’s sort of gone off the list now. We had to write to everyone saying we’re pulling out, and not much has changed.”

Asked if there had been discussion with the council, he said: “I don’t think so. It’s possible they spoke to someone but they didn’t speak to me. I think it’s gone now. We pulled out, and I think unfortunately that’s that.

“We’re going to Newbury in September, and we opened in Hereford in the last few weeks.

“We’re opening rapidly in the Middle East as well. If people from Swindon are over there, we’re opening one in Dubai. We’re doing our best. But it’s a long way to travel to Dubai.”

Hundreds of jobseekers wasted their time sending in job applications to Lakeland, only to be told that they have no jobs to chase after all. The firm was going to move in to Mannington Retail Park next to the new John Lewis At Home store, and needed 30 employees.

It scuppered the plans because council officers recommended rejecting its proposals to build an extra floor at the site.

The reason was because it has a policy of driving economic growth towards the town centre, rather than in scattered outlying areas.

Mary Martin, Tory councillor for the Toothill and Westlea ward in which Mannington Retail Park stands, said she was “disappointed” about the store pulling out.

But she added that, as far as she was aware, Lakeland had not made any attempt to open up discussions with the council’s planning department, and had not contacted the ward councillors.

“Maybe Swindon wasn’t that high on their list in the first place,” she said.

“It seems a bit surprising if they might have been putting job vacancies out when they hadn’t got anywhere near a decision on whether to open a store there.”

Councillor Perkins was unavailable for comment.