A busy and positive time: Swindon Borough Council leader Cllr Jim Robbins writes for the Link

By Swindon Link - 27 September 2024

CommunityPolitics

September has been an exceptionally busy time for the council, with lots of meetings and lots of plans being pushed forward.

We have had a review of the council carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA)and a visit from Ofsted, both of whom will publish reports on us in due course, as well as plenty of council meetings.  I’m pleased that the initial feedback from the LGA and Ofsted are both positive and constructive, praising our improvement work and giving us good advice on how to further improve. 

I’m looking forward to bringing forward some exciting plans on the town centre to the next Cabinet meeting, and will be working with town centre businesses, land-owners and other key stakeholders in the next few weeks to refine and improve the plans before we bring them forward to residents.

We are looking to hold another series of ‘Let’s Talk Swindon’ events to get residents' feedback on the plans later in the Autumn, and we can’t wait to get into detailed discussions about what we can do.

As you’ll be aware, both local government and national government aren’t flush with cash at the moment, so we will look to partner with other organisations in both the public and private sectors to bring forward the plans, so getting the right level of ambition and aspiration for the plan and public support will be really helpful.

I know that residents will have seen many plans for the town centre come forward over the years but not get implemented, and you will be rightly cynical about whether these plans will be the same. I totally get that view and am determined to ensure that this time will be different. We will use our land-holdings in the town and influence to get projects going as soon as possible, and push forward to build the better Swindon that residents are desperate to see. 

We should also have reports coming forward setting out the results of the residents and staff surveys we carry out each year. I’m pleased to report that both surveys have seen more people respond to them than last year, and I’m waiting to see what people have been telling us. 

I was also pleased to see the recent Demos and Price-waterhouse Coopers report setting out that Swindon is rated as the fourth best place to live in the country, based on a set of metrics including our jobs, productivity, skills, green space and more. 

It didn’t surprise me, as I’m continually talking up the town, and I never struggle to have good things to talk about. Just in the last few weeks, we have seen the Swindon Paint Fest brightening up our streets with amazing murals, enjoyed outstanding live music and new ideas from the Swindon Shuffle and we have more amazing art on show through Swindon Open Studios.  

It’s no wonder that the Arts Council have designated us as a Priority Place, which has opened the door to new funding opportunities!

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