D is for Heenan's Bad Spell at Swinon

Councillor Dale Heenan (he of the council tax debacle) has asked residents (with only a few days to the deadline, so sounds more like a tick-box engagement exercise) what they 'want to see changed or improved'.

Swindoncentric suggests Mr Heenan maybe goes for English lessons, judging by the very sloppy letter of objection he's tweeted regarding a planning application he feels strong about.

In the letter, he suggests that residents write their own letter, as it carries more weight.

True, especially since it appears he can't even spell 'Swindon' in the opening line of his.

Never mind, I'm sure putting him in charge of two Swindon Libraries will go swimmingly. Is the order for new signs in yet? Better check the spelling first.

It's S-w-i-n-d-o-n

Swindon Election : Swindon Tories Leafleted during Suspension

Swindoncentric received reports of Tory leaflets being dropped through doors on Thursday, before general election campaigning was due to restart this morning.

Not really appropriate.

HM-No!

The application to turn a house in Swindon's very posh Goddard Avenue into a bedsit has been withdrawn.

Told you so!

The posh wedge shall be maintained at adequate thickness, no thinning on top (of the hill) here.

The Thin End Of The Posh Wedge

The poshest of posh streets in Swindon is about to get a rude awakening.

Someone has applied to turn a house in Goddard Avenue into a House in Multiple Occupation. Translation, subdivide a bigger house into lost of smaller residences (in the old days we called them bedsits).

Will the people of Old Town's poshest street stand for it? 

Bruce Street Bungle spells trouble

With Bruce Street Bridges apparently 'finished' (Swindoncentric and many others are really not sure on that one), work will soon move on to the rest of the Great Western Way project work.

In all the project literature that the team responsible have produced, leaflets and regular emails, one thing has consistently been wrong.

Newcombe Drive is spelt with a 'b', in case anyone in the Swindon Borough Council highways team wished to know.

Hopefully all future communication will be correct, otherwise you can look forward to Ranser Bridge, North Tar and Cockberry.

What a Cockleberry up.

Partnership Working - The Sop for Swindon's Budget Cuts

Whether it's the Big Conversation, or the One Swindon Partnership, Swindon Borough Council seems eager to keep making a lot of getting by with very little.

In the run-up to the 2010 General Election, much was made of how government departments and agencies would need to work closer, sharing budgets, staff, equipment and more as budget cuts were coming. This policy was embraced strongly by Swindon Borough Council with both arms, as they rushed to work out how to save £15 million from one year to the next. Much was made of moving the council towards just being an 'enabler' (which sounds creepy) that would let contracts to companies to do all the jobs the local authority had previously carried out.

Another main plank was getting departments of the council, it's 'partners' (mainly it's hugely contracted-to-do-everything Capita and Swindon Commercial Services) and even, in the longer term, other neighbouring local authorities, to work in partnership to provide service and projects.

It seems even nearly 4 years later, if the word 'partnership' can be tacked onto anything, no matter how unnecessary the service or project, it's elevated to a solid level of respectability. However there's a big problem that's now being hit and that's money.

Getting departments and organisations to get to know each other and build up local knowledge is fine and should be encouraged, but trying to squeeze the same amount of productivity as pre-2010 from a council that has mostly part-time staff, tiny departments and have lost much of their local knowledge is trying to simply deny the simple truth.

If you want greater productivity and a council that plans properly for the future, we need to spend money on it. Otherwise all that'll be left is a person manning a telephone desk and a warehouse full of orange paint.

Are their any councillors arguing for investment into council manpower? Strategies and partnerships don't empty the bins.

By The Numbers on Croft School

A statistical analysis of Swindon Borough Council Leader Rod Bluh's weekly column from the Swindon Advertiser in which he defends the construction of the new Croft Primary School.

Frequency of words and phrases within the column -

I = 4

We = 7

OFSTED = 1

Children = 5

Class Solutions = 0

Business Opportunity = 0

Consultation = 0

Cost Overrun = 0

And Now The Shopping Forecast

The forecast? Well, it seems to be steady as she goes, hold course and no sudden movements.

In a very tardy response to Rob, who commented on this story from September 2008, the BHS rebuild and the Canal Walk, Parade revamp seems to be the most we can hope for as the economy oh-so-slowly grows again.

But there is an indicator of how the recession has effected rebuilding work. The Debenhams store is to receive a modernisation, the retailer doing what it can in it's current premises as the Regent Place plan (which included a new Debenhams store) fell through.

House of Fraser is Swindon's split personality department store retailer. Selling racks of outlet discount ranges, while trying to do so under the 'House of Fraser' brand with the word 'outlet' bolted on smacks of not knowing their market, with there only being two other 'outlet stores' in the UK. Swindon seems to be one of a trio of locations where expectations for an up market department store weren't borne out by the shopper demographic that actually existed. Watering down a brand is not something that is easily reversed.

No new whispers to indicate whether House of Fraser will be moving out any time soon.

Swindon Centric Says ; Ask anyone who works in retail in Swindon how they would describe the profile of the town's shopper and they will only reply with one word, "cheap".

Oh So Quiet... Granville Street Development On Hold

A day after the scheme for the residential tower at Regent Circus was shelved, due to the recession, another part of another area due for building has been announced to be going the same way, fast.

The Regent Place (not to be confused with the college site at Regent Circus) area of 'The Hub' area of the rebuilding of the town centre, on the Granville Street carpark, has been shelved for the moment as the retail sector readjusts during the recession.

An attempt at reassurance came out of Councillor Young that the 'Union Square' area (formerly called 'The Exchange' and located on the swathes of land between Fleming Way, the bus station and the railway station) is signed and sealed contract-wise.

Swindon Centric Says ; The New Swindon Company don't seem to be doing much to justify their existence, except renaming the development areas as a marketing team might do the same for a theme park.

Expecting a runaway mine money train to be put into the plans for Regent Place any day now, once the market picks up of course.

Every Little Helps, But Tesco Might Not Be At Regent Circus

Where Swindon Centric leads, others follow, with the Adver today publishing details about the Regent Circus back-and-forth discussions.

So the majority of the scheme is still alive, but the tower plan has been put on hold for the moment, maybe after the recession it'll rise with the green shoots. But the supermarket will either be Morrisons, Waitrose, Somerfield (soon to be the Co-op) or Tesco.

Swindon Centric Says ; As long as the cinema scheme is retained, then, after 5pm, the area won't go dead like most of the town centre at the moment.

Every Little Helps With Regent Circus Development

A short story on BBC Radio Wiltshire this morning suggested that contracts are on the verge of being signed for the supermarket that will be part of the Regent Circus development. This ties with this post at the end of last month about the redevelopment negotiations.

Coincidentally, an overheard conversation in the town centre today suggested that Tesco, currently hidden away underneath Debenhams, will relocate "further up town".

Swindon Centric Says ; Will it be Tesco that will sit on the former college site?

You've Overshot the Consultation Street Stop, Hello?

That seems to be the case on the Groundwell Park & Ride cut.

The passengers trying to save their service reported that the staff at the site had already been paid their redundancy money, before the council meeting, on Monday evening (at which the final decision on the service was meant to be made).

As the dust begins to clear, but the question that no-one seems to be asking the council is why had staff already been given redundancy money before the 'final decision' was made?

Swindon Centric Says ; Was the consultation a sham? Would councillors like to answer this question and explain?

PS - How can the cabinet member for 'Sustainability, Transport & Strategic Planning' (Peter Greenhalgh) seriously dismiss the increase in cars driving into the town centre by saying that this would be cancelled out by not having the park and ride buses running? (This was reported in the Adver's print edition)

Is Mr Greenhalgh aware that a bus only needs to be a third full to be more efficient than the equivalent number of single-occupancy utilised cars? Or does he think all the Groundwell site commuters will be driving into town in hybrids and electric cars when the site closes? Perhaps he's thinking some of them might be Mr Fusion powered DeLoreans?

News Is Put On Ice, With Ice Fall Council Sue Fluff 'Story'

Yes, the headline says it all.

A woman from Upper Stratton fell in Old Town during the cold weather and is blaming the council for it. It includes legal action for not salting the pavement.

Swindon Centric Says ; Mrs Ireson seems to think it is directly the council's fault for the fall by saying, "I want to show them I wouldn’t be suffering if it wasn’t for them".

Well, no, the cold weather caused you to fall. If it had been salted and you'd still fallen, would you still have blamed the council?

Meanwhile, a duck held up traffic somewhere, it sounds more interesting, we'll get you the details.

Paper Surprised At Lack Of Interest In Irrelevant Story

The Advertiser was surprised that more people didn't take part in it's online and ballot box poll about a Swindon directly elected mayor.

That may be because it wasn't that vital and urgent an issue to start with when the Link Magazine began running with it in 2001 (in response to the inability of the parties at the time to work together in the cabinet form on the council). The comments by one MP and the council leader seem to agree that it would make "little difference".

Swindon Centric Says ; A directly elected, accountable member of the council and government? Aren't they local councillors and MPs? Lets get back to stories and issues that matter, instead of creating them out of thin air.

Big Project In The Shopping Bag - At Last

The Regent Place scheme, which will be built within the Commercial Road, Regent Street area, has been, finally, signed off.

At the same time, someone from the quiet-as-a-mouse, New Swindon Company, came out of hiding to say how pleased they were.

Swindon Centric Says ; Ok, the first hurdle is cleared, now lets see how long before the work begins. The clock is ticking...

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction - In Hong Kong & Swindon

A quick online search for details of the new Central Library reveals more holes than Swiss cheese in the Borough Council system. The main page, here, shows the last update on the construction as the 8th of May. Then, the specific central library page, here, shows the latest July news and an out of date picture.

Seems Komadori's comments about the latest initiative of council services were spot on. With their urge to rebrand, combined with an overdose of administration, (for it's own sake) is leaving the council treading water in a sea of it's own created red tape.

Swindon Centric Says ; We would throw them a life ring, but we don't have the correct form to fill out, plus by the time we get to it, the request will probably be out of date.

In other news... the same search found a book shop in Hong Kong called Swindon Book Company. Spookily, their website looks very familiar to the previous layout of the Borough Council site, in orange and grey.

Swindon Centric Says ; If the council are secretly running a book shop in a former British colony, then we demand an inquiry and possibly a recount.

The Writing Remains On The Wall - For Some

A clean-up of Old Town has highlighted the poor uptake of the free Swindon Borough Council graffiti removal service.

Despite efforts to highlight the service, many people still didn't take up the offer to make the area cleaner. This is a real shame as Swindon Centric has experience of the service and can't fault it. Often, private property not facing roadways never get cleaned unlike those facing into streets.

Personally, having seen less than three quarters of of the residents of our street walk in or out of the area, they probably never literally look over their garden fence. If they did they would see the side of privately owned walls, fences and garden sheds covered in graffiti. Whereas council owned subways, fences, walls and street furniture are repainted or jet cleaned once every fortnight.

Swindon Centric Says ; We're all quick to criticise the Council, but this service, which is free, is excellent and should be taken up by all residents who need it. It's possibly the easiest thing any resident can do to improve their area, you can ask for the service by phone and do it via email, it's that easy.

Swan Death Causes Very Little Flap

It's summer, it's Swindon, so it must be something other than news in the news!

That's right, staff, we are told, at the Great Western Hospital, are in mourning for the resident swan.

Swindon Centric Says ; Council discussions begin in the morning about funeral arrangements, details include a parade route, a twenty-one gun salute and a red arrows flypast.

We're Not Lovin' It!

That would be press releases disguised as news about as well as a dame at a panto. McDonalds has been in Swindon town centre for twenty-five years.

Swindon Centric Says ; 25 years, it feels like more. Oh wait... no that's just heartburn.

This Just In - Swindon Bins Filled With Laptops, Jazz Bands & Rubbish

LATE BREAKING NEWS

Details have just reached us in the last few minutes of a shocking story that is breaking across the town this evening. A source we'll call Maria, from Swindon Borough Council has contacted us to say that a secret survey conducted this week has some shocking results.

Surveys of the contents of the entire Borough issued general waste wheelie bins makes for upsetting reading. The headlines look like this ;

- 46% contain general household unrecyclable waste.

- 17% contain general household recyclable waste. Those lazy people will be dealt with.

- 14% contain missing government laptops and data discs.

- 9% contain nothing as those residents eat their waste. They will be dealt with by the people in white coats.

- Another 9% are being used as dens in those residents gardens.

- 3% are being used to transport a jazz band and their instruments to a gig in Old Town.

- And the final 2% are actually bottomless...

Swindon Centric Says ; And for those freaky highly-strung residents moaning in the previous story, they all contain maggots. Get over it.

Besides if you have one of the 3% with the ' Swindon All Star Jazz Upbeaters Band ' in them, then as you sluice them out with boiling water, you can bop along to the jazz rhythms, everyone's a winner.