Swindon Sitcom Loses Principal Character

Karen Walker has left Forward Swindon after just three months in the job.

Such a shame, considering she was working on a new regeneration plan for the town centre (taking into account the current/old one has failed) and the simple move of grassing over empty plots to give the town a radical improvement in appearance and increase in (temporary) open space.

It was for 'personal reasons', but, word is, her approach was at odds with Swindon Borough Council, who wanted a 'quick reaction plan' for when the economy picks up. The council are currently trying to push through the stunningly unimaginative scheme for Regent Circus.

Swindon Centric Says ; We need a long-term plan, otherwise we'll be in the same place in a decade, think beyond your own political interests councillors and give us some substance!

Is the Grass Greener On the Forward Swindon Side?

A very welcomed comment in Karen Walker's (Chief Executive of the rebranded town regeneration agency, Forward Swindon) presentation to a Swindon Borough Council scrutiny meeting is the proposal to remove the white hoardings around vacant land and grassing over them for public use.

This idea was mentioned last year, but nothing came of it.

Swindon Centric Says ; A very small amount of money grassing over the empty plots of land in town would be a huge boost to just making the town centre look better. This could be done in a matter of weeks, this really is something that is so simple, there's no reason for it to not happen.

All Quiet on the Forward Swindon Front

The rebranding of the New Swindon Company into Forward Swindon has also seen other changes with a new chief executive, who seems a tad shy of local media (well, the Swindon Advertiser, who seems sore that she didn't return their phone calls), but some interesting information can be gleaned from her coverage in the Financial Times.

The FT article and that of the Swindon Advertiser mainly just talks about the tax break and marketing opportunities that Forward Swindon plan to make of Swindon. Not much talk about bricks and mortar rebuilding work.

Swindon Centric Says ; As Komadori has pointed out, the effectiveness of this new appointment is questionable, given previous experience. Then again, quangos are pretty unanswerable to anyone, but surely the best hope for an organisation charged with helping to rebuild the town centre is to staff it with architects, town planners and local stakeholders who actually have local knowledge, use the town centre and know what's needed to make it functional, relevant and attractive.

If this piece of news (specifically the comment under the story) is to be believed, everyone's favourite wi-fi businessman may soon have a hand in the town centre regeneration. Then again, since the loan to Digital City started to roll after being signed off on a note earmarking the money for small business/town centre regeneration , thank god for the small mercy that the town centre is due to be the second place to get the wi-fi. After Highworth, which still isn't finished...