Reasons to be cheerful – Swindon town centre

Swindon Borough Council Labour Group Deputy Leader Cllr Emma Bushell writes for the Link

There has been a lot of media interest in recent weeks in the dying of high streets up and down the country, thanks largely to the spotlight shone on the issue by the Prime Minister. 

Swindon has these exact same problems. Like high streets across the country, businesses in Swindon have had to contend with the growth of online shopping, the rise in business rates and soaring energy bills, which have contributed to the perception of there being a decline in our town centres.

Those challenges will not disappear overnight, but in recent times we in Swindon have started to see signs of what can be achieved when there is a willingness to invest and intervene and look to the future of what we want Swindon to become.

Andy Burnham’s announcement of new powers to help communities take back control of their high streets can act as the catalyst for taking back control of our towns. Under the Labour Government’s plans, new vape shops and adult gaming centres will require planning permission, while councils will be given greater powers over new betting shops. 

As the Prime Minister has recognised, too many high streets have been “hollowed out” over recent decades. 

These new powers could make a real difference in Swindon, helping the council encourage a healthier mix of shops and ensuring that the future of our town centre is shaped by what local people actually want, which was the purpose of the previous Labour Council’s Heart of Swindon vision.

August’s Big Town Centre Clean-Up is another welcome scheme to help turn Swindon into a town we can all be proud of. Council teams, supported by residents and councillors, have been cleaning streets, removing graffiti and weeds, repairing paving and refurbishing benches, to make Swindon an attractive place to visit. 

This is a positive initiative from the council, which Labour councillors have been keen to support because, regardless of who runs the council, we all want the same outcome – a better Swindon.

One of the most exciting opportunities in Swindon is the proposed new theatre and entertainment venue at Kimmerfields, which the Labour-led council at the time secured £20 million of Government funding for. 

In the interests of all of us working towards building a better Swindon, we very much hope the new Conservative administration will take that work forward and turn the opportunity into a major new attraction.

Restoring pride in Swindon cannot stop at the boundaries of the town centre, however. The Government's £40m Pride in Place investment in Swindon has already kick-started improvements and new community activities in the Penhill and Walcot and Parks areas. 

Rather than decisions simply being handed down from above, the new Neighbourhood Boards will give residents a direct role in shaping how that investment is used. Both boards have now met for the first time, beginning the work of turning that funding into visible improvements for their communities.

There is always more that can be done and nobody should pretend otherwise. But we should also recognise progress when it happens. 

Labour will support the new Administration when it builds on that progress and challenge it when it does not, because our ambition should be bigger than simply managing decline. 

It should be to restore pride in our town, breathe life into our communities and give people reasons to be optimistic about Swindon's future.