‘Deserted’ English town plagued by string of shop closures to be transformed into ‘vibrant shopping hub’ in £100m boost
A "DESERTED" English town is destined to be a "vibrant shopping hub" with a £100million boost after facing a string of closures.
The retail centre in the heart of the town has long been plagued by empty units and dwindling footfall.
Swindon Borough Council proposed a campaign called Heart of Swindon to transformation to the shopping district.
Councillors are hoping the plans will persuade investors to contribute to the town's regeneration.
The town centre used to boast a range of shops but the revamp will see it become less of a retail space and more a residential area.
Money will be poured into a range of housing designed for students, professionals and those looking to downsize.
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The hope is that thousands more people living in the city centre with breathe a new life into the area - as well as splashing the cash.
With new residents will hopefully come new businesses and start-ups, attracting employees and graduates.
Swindon Borough Council wants universities and campuses to take an interest and potentially set up a "student hub" near their classes.
To cater for this influx of people, transport will be improved and new green spaces will be constructed for the locals of Swindon centre.
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Officials have their fingers crossed that this will put an end to the "retail desert" and be the shake-up the town desperately needs.
The revamp-strategy spans over 20 years as a £100million regeneration project like this one will take plenty of time.
It comes as Swindon town centre comes under fire for feeling unsafe "because it is deserted."
The flurry of initiatives included in the Heart of Swindon plans should inject some vibrancy into the centre but will also make it feel safer, according to Councillor Stanka Adamcova,
She believes shoppers won't come into town unless they feel safe - a change hopes will come with the new campaign.
Ms Adamcova said: "Unless people feel safe there, they won't be coming into the town centre."
The cabinet member for planning, Ms Strinkovsky added: "I talk to people who walk through the town centre after dark at the time.
"And what comes out is that the main thing that makes the town centre feel unsafe is the emptiness of it.
"It's not that the amount of recorded crime in the town centre is unacceptably high – it's that it feels unsafe because it's deserted, and if we have more people living there, and attract more businesses there to serve them, then it will be less deserted."
Swindon Borough Council currently doesn’t own much of the town centre but a few features are already in the works.
The plans are yet to take precise shape but the council is currently working on a deal to build the new accommodation on the cleared Kimmerfields site.
Here they are also hoping to pop up a new theatre and concert venue - twice the size of the current one.
A "bus boulevard" will soon be opened and link the central business district to the main shopping centre, and visitors will be able to arrive in the centre of town.
Residents have likened the plans to Cabot Circus in Bristol which hosts shops, offices, a hotel, 250 apartments and a cinema.
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However, even the hugely popular South West retail district is going through a series of changes due to declining footfall.
The Sun has reached out to Swindon Borough Council for a comment.