Will the building of an urban park in the Davis Place area work?
Swindon Centric Says ; How will the Sainsburys delivery lorry be kept from tearing up the grass? We need plans and details please Councillor Perkins, but at £225,000 it better be bloody good.
Swindon Centric did actually see a couple of people using the Fleming Way Park today for it's intended purpose, so it might work!
As the reasons for trying to persuade a developer to invest in a site can be in a constant state of flux, so can the accompanying political spin of the reasons for regeneration not happening.
Seems the pendulum of reason for the Regent Circus development have swung so far one way, they've now swung towards the other.
Readers may remember that the reason behind the delay was bats. But this article from October (Swindon Centric is playing catchup with stories, you may have noticed!) gives the impression the liquidation of one of the two companies involved contributed to the delay. However, in a council meeting the member responsible for regeneration, Councillor Gary Perkins, denied that the financial problems would delay the project.
Plus Mr. Perkins talked widely about the bats now colonising the building and how that was delaying the redevelopment. However, the developer has said this will have little impact.
Swindon Centric Says ; So exactly what were/have we been told and what was/is correct?
As we recently learnt, the long-delayed Regent Circus development is now being held up due to bats roosting in the former Technical College building on the site next to Victoria Road.
But could something far more business-like be a factor in the delay?
Like one of the two developers going into administration?
The Regent Circus scheme is being carried out by Ashfield Land and Parkridge Developments, but the latter is currently in administration which begs the question, why when Deputy Council Leader (and Cabinet Member for Regeneration) Garry Perkins waxed lyrical about bats, did he not mention that one of the two developers was in administration?
Swindon Centric Says ; Why has this fact never been announced by Garry Perkins, or Swindon Borough Council? Even if the administration of Parkridge Developments has no effect on the project, why has no-one in our Council talked about it?
Rotten Borough Regeneration?
UPDATE AND CORRECTION :
The issue of Parkridge Developments going into administration was raised by Councillor Bawden, who directed his question to Councillor Perkins of whether it would have an effect on the Regent Circus scheme and was told by Councillor Perkins it would make little difference.
Sorry for the mistake and thank you to Councillor Steve Wakefield for the correction.
So, it is just the bats we have to deal with. Maybe we can get them like this :
The view down Rolleston Street towards the proposed Regent Circus development.
The saga of pulling down the former Swindon College building in Regent Circus has moved onto bats, democracy and a dateless phase.
The last few years have been filled with promises of demolition dates, all of which have been missed.
Now Council Leader Rod Bluh has dispensed with a demolition date (very wise), but has rambled on to blame the inaction on bats living in the older part of the building on Victoria Road and also local residents. Blaming them for giving feedback to the plan for the area, which required amendment and, according to his comments, added to the delay.
Swindon Centric Says ; Blame the wi-fi failure on Swindon residents, blame a regeneration stalling on Swindon residents, what next?
Despite putting his face as that which thought of the idea for the Fleming Way park, Deputy Council Leader Councillor Perkins is wrong.
He didn't think of the idea, as Komadori has said, the idea has it's origins from former Councillor Young and was floated by the previous Chief Executive, Karen Walker of the Forward Swindon company.
Swindon Centric Says ; Perhaps if Councillor Perkins stopped taking credit for the things that weren't his idea and instead got to grips with being the Swindon People's Director on the board of Digital City (the private company set up and given £450,000 of government money to build the failed wi-fi scheme), we might all be better off.
A tremendous new year to all, now on with the important stuff...
The majority of Skanska contractors, who installed the new paving in Regent Street (and initially in Canal Walk) have done the job, but they may be regularly returning (not just for future contracts for other public realm work), but for maintenance on the Leader's New Paving.
The choice of paving slabs was altered by the council leader (according to whispers and despite advice from, you know, engineers), but they're slightly soft, which makes them absorb muck, tire tracks and other debris at an alarming rate. Happily, a budget for regular jet-washing of the paving has been set.
However, if you stroll along Regent Street, up from the fountain, you'll see several holes (no bigger than the size of a two-pence piece) appearing in the middle of slabs which are in the centre of the street.
Is this caused by the softness of the material chosen, the jet-washing, or a combination of both?
Any work on this will have to wait for Councillor Bluh (THE man for micro-managing) to return fully to work, having been scarcely seen since the start of the year.
Swindon Centric Says ; According to Swindon Borough Council employee rules, I'm sure after two days he's provided a sick-note to those in HR, giving his reasons for his absence.
Is there a tick-box for 'leadership challenge' on a doctor's note these days?
The news that the Chief Executive of The New Swindon Company is to step down should be a moment to assess exactly what the organisation is for.
The schemes that is came up with were, no doubt, grand, but they have nearly all fallen by the wayside, mostly due to the recession.
But, getting down to the nitty gritty of physically doing things seems to have been the job of Swindon Borough Council. As it says under the 'Local Forum' heading in the 'Blog' section on their site, "delivering regeneration... is a long-term plan...so if you don’t hear anything new for a while it does not mean we have stopped."
Under Mr James direction, the opposite seems to have been the case, with each tiny step publicised to within an inch of it's life.
Swindon Centric Says ; Good wishes for whatever Mr James goes onto, but in Swindon, we now need to know the answers to two questions...
1. Who is really in charge of driving and delivering Swindon's rebuilding, The New Swindon Company or Swindon Borough Council?
2. Will Mr James' replacement knuckle down to the painstaking details and only been seen in the press when we have a viable, inspiring plan and cranes on the horizon?
Despite the relatively unpredictable weather over the last few weeks, local artist Ken White has done stirling work on repainting his mural. Swindon Centric talked to Ken last week and he remarked that he would dart for cover into the small container when the rain began, fortunately none of the repainting has run in the wet weather.
Swindon Centric Says ; Ken expected to be finished by the end of today.
The New Swindon Company may have been around since the town centre didn't quite look as bad as it does now, but not much has happened of note since then.
So Swindon Centric declares that the best part of anything in the town centre is the repainting of the Golden Lion Bridge Mural by it's creator, Ken White.
Swindon Centric Says ; You can tell this isn't a New Swindon Company project, because this one is actually going to happen.
Where else should we have a new generation of murals in Swindon? Ideas welcome.
