Page 8 - link magazine

8 FRESHBROOK & GRANGE PARK
Galileo staff get the chop as residents
await new corporate neighbour

Just a year after planting a cherry tree to commemorate ten years in Swindon, international travel
information company Galileo is quitting its Windmill Hill site with a loss of 250 jobs.
Amidst rumours of takeovers, and offering counselling. Many velop a positive relationship with
the company has decided to con- will be offered the possibility of the Grange Park Residents Asso-
solidate its technical staff into its relocating to Denver, though not ciation and fears about the tall
largest location in Denver, USA. all will choose to do so. chimneys and diesel fumes from
Around 160 jobs will be retained The early 1990s were marked by generators gave way to praise for
in the UK, up to 60 finance and conflict between Galileo and the company's consultative ap-
administration staff in Swindon at Grange Park residents over envi- proach, tree planting and landscap-
new offices, with the remainder ronmental issues and the impos- ing efforts along Hook Street.
located nearer Heathrow. ing blue glass data processing cen- As the search begins for new
Jenny Cropper, Senior Manager tre, just yards from their homes. tenants for the building that some
of Corporate Relations, stressed At one time, residents feared that know as the 'blue monster,' former
that the decision was not taken the company would be supplying residents association chair Eileen
lightly and Galileo is doing as electricity to the national grid from Sawyer said, "we would hope that
much as possible to support its the huge emergency computer Swindon council's planners will
j employees, setting up job-shops power backup diesel engines in be sensitive to the attitude of resi-
the bowels of the building. dents and not allow any changes
^ ^ T ^^,, ^, T 1 I ^^ _., ^ (^ ^ T ^^,^, ^, I However Galileo went on to de- that will harm the environment.
F From the May 1998 Link, Eileen Sawyer helps commemorate Galileo's decade
in Swindon with company vice presidents Gordon Watt, centre, and Dean Bibb

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Maxwell House • Maxwell Street • Swindon

Well known PC back on the beat
Comfortable A familiar face to many residents of West Swindon, PC Ian Horne has
recently returned to work in Grange Park and The Prinnels area.
Recruited from the army in 1979,
independence Ian has spent all of his twenty years
police service in Swindon.
After his two years initial train-
ing in the town centre, and then as
the area car driver for Penhill and
Pinehurst, he became Freshbrook's
Community Beat Officer in 1984.
Ian then moved on to the re-
cently built Grange Park beat, ab-
sorbing Shaw, Middleleaze and
Nine Elms as they appeared.
He left beat work in 1990 to set
up and run Swindon's first Schools
and Youth Affairs department. children, Ian has lived in West
In 1994 he was honoured with Swindon for 17 years and as a re-
For your retirement living, we have vacancies
i the Wiltshire High Sheriff's Award sult has a considerable knowledge
at Brain Court, Stratton St. Margaret and Windmill for services to the community as a of the area he works.
Court, Freshbrook, Swindon. result of setting up and running "I am a firm advocate of under-
the annual Junior Good Citizen standing the other person's point
Please contact our Regional Office:
Scheme, a child safety event, a tru- of view. If we all showed a little
Western Region, 10 The Parade
ancy initiative and a project ad- more tolerance towards each other,
Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 1NE dressing bullying in schools. the police could focus on serious
After eight and a half years in crime.
Tel: 01672 515622
the role Ian returns as Community "By the same token I am con-
SHELTERED PROPERTIES THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH Beat Officer, requesting and get- cerned that petty crime must not
ting his old beat area back. "I think be regarded as acceptable. Chil-
many youngsters who met me in dren are very impressionable; ex-
James Butcher the classroom are surprised to see amples of good behaviour should
me on the street; it makes for good be set, whilst those youngsters who
Housing Association community relations." step out of line need to take re-
A married man with two adult sponsibility for the misdeeds."