Latest news with #SwindonBoroughCouncil
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Swindon park to host teddy bears' picnic
A park will host a teddy bear picnic. The event will take place at Broadgreen Park on Friday, August 1, from 11.30am onwards. The picnic is being organised by Swindon Borough Council in collaboration with the Brighter Broadgreen project. Be the first to know with the Swindon Advertiser! 📱 💡 Our flash sale brings the latest local happenings directly to you. Save over 50% on an annual subscription now. 🔗 #SpecialOffer — Swindon Advertiser (@swindonadver) July 4, 2025 Children, parents, and teddy bears are all invited to enjoy a community picnic and storytelling activities. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own teddy, picnic, refreshments, and blankets or chairs for an afternoon of fun. A spokesman for the council said: "If you go down to the Broadgreen Park, you're sure to get a big surprise! "On Friday, August 1, Broadgreen Park will host a teddy bear picnic from 11.30am onwards. "In collaboration with the council and the Brighter Broadgreen project, teddy bears, children, and parents can enjoy a community picnic and participate in storytelling activities. Read more: 100 jobs to be created as drone company Stark plans new factory "Bring along your teddy, picnic, refreshments, and blanket/chairs for an afternoon of fun." People who would like to provide any activities for the day are asked to get in touch before Friday, July 18, by emailing DGreenough@ so space can be allocated. The event promises an afternoon of community fun and interaction, bringing people together in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Swindon town centre revamp finally set to open August
A major town junction is to reopen in August after a three year multi-million pound on the £33m transformation of Fleming Way in Swindon, to turn it into a transport hub, began in cycle lanes have been created, along with bus shelters with wheelchair access wireless charging and digital screens, more bus connections and all bus services moved to Fleming Way, the dilapidated bus station located just off Manchester Road will be demolished, Swindon Borough Council said. When the scheme was first proposed it was claimed it would increase Swindon's economic productivity by more than £28m over the first 20 years and bring wider benefits to the town Borough Council leader Jim Robbins said the new hub will replace the town's "dingy, unwelcome bus station" with facilities that will leave a "lasting first impression" on visitors."This is just the first step in improving the town centre and encouraging the private sector to invest in Swindon," he council said FI Real Estate Management, has invested £8.5m in its nearby Newbridge Square offices, and Zurich have been working closely with landlords and organisations to improve nearby areas. South Swindon MP, Heidi Alexander, said the opening marks a "major step forward" in the creation of a town centre that Swindon "can be proud of"."[It] is a vital piece of the puzzle, connecting the railway station to the town centre, attracting business investment, and improving access for local people," she works are ongoing with scheme's contractor, Colas to make sure the site is ready for opening. Fencing around the site will begin to come down from 15 August with bus companies starting to run services from Fleming Way from 31 August.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Decision over Highworth golf course housing plans to stand
A controversial decision to progress plans for housing on a former golf course will stand, a scrutiny committee has Swindon Borough Council voted to proceed with a feasibility study for 700 homes on the old golf course in Highworth, Wiltshire, in the decision was reexamined by the council's Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday after Conservative councillors used a rare protocol known as a call-in to ask the council to check if proper procedure was leader Jim Robbins told the meeting the project was in the "pre-planning process" stage and a final decision would be made at a later date. The "extraordinary meeting" was called after some opposition councillors cited issues with how the decision to progress the plans to the next stage was made, including that it was not clear whether the cabinet had read the report on the Robbins said it was "simply untrue" to suggest they had not read the papers and "knew nothing about the issue".Closed in 2019, the golf course land has been owned by the council since the resident groups and the town council want the area to officially become a nature park. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, at some points, the meeting became heated, with chairman councillor Dale Heenan warning some members of the public after intemperate councillor Steve Weisinger asked for the decision to be returned to the cabinet, but only after the Build a Greener Swindon policy and performance committee had discussed and produced a detailed report on the ward member Nick Gardiner said the decision was "legally shaky, financially short-sighted and environmentally backwards", saying the loss of green open space would have a negative impact on residents and asked for it to be returned for councillor Kevin Small, the cabinet member responsible for the plan, said "even with 700 houses", around "58 per cent of the site will remain as green open space".Mr Heenan pressed Mr Small to assure the committee that no final decision on houses would be taken before a further report was made to cabinet, Mr Small confirming the cabinet would make the final committee voted to confirm the cabinet's decision with voting falling along party lines.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Plan to restore Health Hydro main pool to near-original glory
The main pool of the Health Hydro could be restored to something like its original glory if a new plan put forward by the council is approved. Swindon Borough Council has applied to its own planning department for permission to start work on the second phase of a significant restoration and refurbishment of the late Victorian building build by and for the staff of the Great Western Railway. And if approved the original decorative brickwork around the stained-glass window, could be revealed after decades of being hidden by peeling paint. Be the first to know with the Swindon Advertiser! 📱 💡 Our flash sale brings the latest local happenings directly to you. Save over 50% on an annual subscription now. 🔗 #SpecialOffer — Swindon Advertiser (@swindonadver) July 4, 2025 The steel trusses holding up the roof will also be painted in a colour more reminiscent of the hydro's early 20th-century heyday. Other parts of the extensive plan are less obvious, but include improved ventilation of the main pool hall, better heating and cooling and better drainage of the pool. The plans also include the improvement and restoration of the roof over the pool. The planning application says the intention is to: 'Build upon features uncovered as part of the Phase 1 works, going beyond a simple repair of contemporary finishes, to allow the conservation of the main pool hall. 'The base goal is to substantially improve upon the current presentation of the hall. Here, modern finishes and a series of modifications have resulted in a diminished overall impact of this generally highly original (and highly significant) space. Recommended Reading Potential reopening of beloved Oasis Leisure Centre plunged into doubt Council 'doing all it can' to rescue plans to reopen Oasis Historic heritage building renovations nominated for prestigious awards 'The current decorative scheme is a result of the 1987 refurbishment works. The blue, grey and brilliant white paint and tile selections do not sit well within the historic fabric, and painted surfaces have been widely damaged by historic moisture issues.' The report to planners says it would be 'a step too far' given budget constraints to paint all the fixtures in their original colours : 'a palette of complementary colours is proposed for the soffit in off white and steel trusses in brown and cream, This is not dissimilar to the tones used in the 1936 decorative scheme.' A mock-up picture shows this use of colour and the main window edged in pale brown, with the upper end of the wall around the window displaying the original two-tone zig-zag brickwork. The application says this is not the limit of the council's ambitions for the Grade II*-listed buildings and further works might include bringing back the Small Pool for 'water-based activities that could include a learn-to-swim programme, private hires, pool-based exercise and hydro-therapy' and a full restoration of the Turkish Baths and spa 'complemented by a series of treatment and relaxation and ' Integrated community health and wellbeing - a combination of, primary care; mental health; acute services; social care; community services; family planning; midwifery.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Map shows where 26,000 houses could be built in Swindon
Thousands of houses could be built in several areas in and around Swindon, according to the local plan. Swindon Borough Council has come up with a draft new Local Plan after something of a false start in 2022. The plan envisages that nearly 26,000 homes will be built between now and 2044, and most of them will be built in five 'strategic housing allocations' shown on the map in purple. Be the first to know with the Swindon Advertiser! 📱 💡 Our flash sale brings the latest local happenings directly to you. Save over 50% on an annual subscription now. 🔗 #SpecialOffer — Swindon Advertiser (@swindonadver) July 4, 2025 (Image: Swindon Borough Council) They are the Wichelstowe development which is already well in progress, the New Eastern Villages to the east of the A419, which could see as many as 9,000 of the total built, an increase in the Badbury Park area, in the corner formed by the M4 and the A419, at the Kingsdown allocation south of Blunsdon and a large allocation expanding Tadpole Garden Village northwards. The plan also shows a desire to create, or bring back, a lot more housing to central Swindon. The new plan shows there could be 4,300 flats and houses built in the town centre, with 1,358 allocated to land north of the Railway Station and 1016 for the Brunel Quarter including the area now occupied by the tented market and until recently by the House of Fraser store. Recommended Reading 200 houses could be built on 13 secret publicly owned sites in town Questions over future of Oasis as centre plans granted but flats rejected Council could buy 66 new council houses and flats at Moredon Rec construction The total allocation for the New Eastern Villages is now 9,389, and Kingsdown has 1,847 homes set to be built there, with another 1,620 set for Wichelstowe and an allocation for 513 north of Tadpole Garden Village. Although not shown on the map, East Wroughton is also a strategic allocation with space for 1,027 homes. Outside of the strategic allocations, there are significant numbers of homes planned for the regeneration of Marlowe Avenue at 976 and 814 for Pipers Way. The map also shows areas designated as zones of non-coalescence. The largest is the zone running along the southern border of the NEV, designed to stop Swindon's growth swallowing up Wanborough, and also a smaller area between the expanded South Marston and Rowborough NEV and the planned developments south of the A420. Wichelstowe and Wroughton will be separated by a non-coalescence zone, as well as the M4, and one is allocated between the south of Broad Blunsdon and the northern edges of the Kingsdown allocation. (Image: Swindon Borough Council) The map also shows the existing and planned public open green spaces, with a notable lack of open spaces in North Walcot, Gorse Hill and Stratton St Margaret. Nature reserves like Coate Water, Barbury Castle and Sevenfields in Penhill are shown in a brighter green with a darker border. The council's cabinet has endorsed putting the new draft plan out to public consultation for six weeks from September 1 – a decision that must be confirmed by the full council. Council leader Councillor Jim Robbins said: 'This is an important piece of work setting out the development of Swindon. It's important to get both cross-party support and to put it out for consultation after the summer break.'
