Future of Swindon's economic regeneration rests on lottery bid

By Ben Fitzgerald - 28 September 2017

Arts and Culture

The bid for a new Museum and Art Gallery is now at full throttle with more than 3,000 active supporters backing the project as the deadline for the first submission for Heritage Lottery Funding draws closer.

Due to be submitted at the end of November, a successful bid will be the first step in transforming Swindon’s town centre.

However, the community continues to play a central role in the project and the submission, with plans continually growing and being adapted according to feedback received from the public.

Director of the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery Trust, Rod Hebden, explained: “Getting out and about and meeting as many people as we can is a key priority for me.  As well as attending events, such as Swindon and Wiltshire Pride, the Swindon and Cricklade Railway Steam and Vintage weekend, and Swindon Open Studios, we’ve also been into businesses across the town. As I keep presenting our plans to different individuals and groups, people have been suggesting brilliant new ways that the new museum and art gallery can help people in Swindon.

“At the core of this project is our belief that Swindon’s rich heritage can inspire a brighter future for the town, using these lessons from its past.

The role of the new museum and gallery is to celebrate Swindon’s heritage and to inspire its future.  Our ambition should be built on that great heritage, not constrained by the current town centre.  It’s hard to think of another town where there is such a huge gap between the negative perceptions of the place and the reality of what it really has to offer.  This clear gap shows the enormous potential for Swindon’s transformation. The first step is to create a leading future-facing facility which presents Swindonians as the visionary people we know them to be.  Then, most importantly, the building must become an open, democratic platform for Swindon’s communities to innovate and to address our own town’s needs, and seize the opportunities we have.

“Unfortunately, our town centre ranks as one of the lowest in the country for urban green space. Back in Brunel’s time the railway men knew the value of nature and green spaces, and the GWR park was a thriving part of their town.  Our roof-top gardens and the public realm in front of the building can help address this need for urban green space.  Even better, we have already begun to explore whether TWIGS Community Gardens, the local mental health charity, could use our rooftop gardens for their therapeutic work, and whether they could use the museum café to support people returning to work full time. That idea then grew further, when we spoke with the Richard Jefferies Museum, and realised that we could work with them to design the gardens so that they told the story of the Swindonian nature writer, who was founding father of environmentalism in Britain.

“If we are successful, this is exactly the sort of partnership work we will be continuing to build with Swindon communities and organisations.  The museum and art gallery project has huge potential for Swindon, and I am determined to involve Swindon people throughout its design.”

To keep up to date with the latest from the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery Trust, visit www.swindonmuseum.org.uk or like their Facebook page www.facebook.com/backthebidswindon.

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