Ribbon cut on Swindon's Fleming Way transport hub
The hub was opened by Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander, Swindon's mayor, Fay Howard and cabinet member for transport, Chris Watts.There are new bus shelters with better accessibility, wireless charging, digital screens and solar panels. Lots of greenery has been planted too - more than 181 trees, and 23,000 plants and bushes.New cycle lanes also connect the town's two main cycle routes.The money came from the government's Future High Streets Fund, the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership's Local Growth Fund and Swindon Borough Council.
Ms Alexander, MP for Swindon South, said: "As a born-and-bred Swindon girl, nothing gives me more pride than opening brand-new public transport infrastructure in the heart of our town."Mr Watts said it was a "hugely complex and challenging scheme to deliver" but thanked those who worked on it.He said as well as removing the "run-down" bus station, the council would now like to build a new entertainment venue next to Fleming Way.
Stagecoach West said it will operate almost 1,000 journeys a week from the new hub."The new interchange at Fleming Way will provide customers with state-of-the-art journey planning, which will be transformational for them," Chris Hanson from the company said.Ben Murray, managing director of Swindon's Bus Company, said: "This is a spectacular transformation. The location promises to be one of the region's major transport hubs, and we are excited to be operating our services here."
The council said the improvements could boost the local economy by £28m over the next 20 years.It said it has already attracted private investment to the area, including FI Real Estate Management spending £8.5m on its offices there.Zurich also said the changes encouraged it to keep its headquarters in the town.
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