Swindon Borough Council to discuss town's long-term priorities
The 'New Swindon Plan' hopes to make the town ‘fairer’, ‘better’ and ‘greener’
A new plan, which'll set out the long term priorities of Swindon Borough Council, is to be discussed at next week's Cabinet meeting.
The Swindon Plan' sets out three priority missions for the next decade - to make the town 'fairer, better and greener'.
Part of the work includes plans to build a new inclusive youth centre in Park North, as well as a commitment to refurbish and reopen the Oasis Leisure Centre.
It's hoped the plan will help to improve the quality of life for all residents in the Borough - and has been developed following feedback from hundreds of residents and council partners.
Amid the cost of living crisis, like all local authorities, the Borough Council say they will be looking to 'progress each mission working with communities and partners across the private, public and voluntary sectors'.
'Build a Fairer Swindon'
Under this mission, the council hope to help facilitate the construction of a new, inclusive youth centre in Park North that would support over 100 children a week.
Other work aims to improve the oral health of Swindon’s children and help under-fives achieve a healthy weight.
The mission also focuses on creating new primary school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as progressing plans for a 100-place brand-new special school.
'Build a Better Swindon'
Under 'Build a better Swindon’, the mission includes bringing forward plans for a new town centre entertainment venue and ensuring the recently opened Museum & Art Swindon facility continues to thrive.
The Council is also supporting a developer-led scheme to refurbish and re-open the Oasis Leisure Centre, having already exchanged contracts with SevenCapital on a new development agreement.
Later this year, the Council says that it intends to publish a new plan to enhance the town centre, co-ordinating the efforts of key landowners, developers and other stakeholders. Plans for a major new housing scheme at Marlowe Avenue, including up to 450 affordable homes, will also be pushed forward.
'Build a Greener Swindon'
Under the ‘Build a greener Swindon’ mission, proposed actions include installing new on-street electric vehicle charging points using already secured government grant funding. Planting thousands of new trees across the Borough and further actions to increase household recycling, such as rolling out a food waste collection service to all communal properties in Swindon during 2024/25, will also come under this mission.
The Swindon Plan
The local authority says it wants to 'reset' its relationship with residents - which is what The Swindon Plan is meant to be all about.
Subject to the plan’s approval at next week’s (17 July) Cabinet meeting, it will then be tabled for all councillors to vote on at a meeting of Full Council on 25 July.
Council Leader, Councillor Jim Robbins, said: “Swindon is a fantastic place to call home but there’s things that need to be addressed to improve the quality of life for all residents. The Swindon Plan sets out the Council’s three priority missions to build a fairer, better and greener Swindon. I’d like to thank again all the residents and partners who have helped to inform this.
“While the plan has a long-term focus, we are also setting out the actions we will take over the next three years to progress these priorities. The plan doesn’t shy away from the reality that the Council can’t do this alone. To varying extents, many actions will require contributions from partners across the private, public and voluntary sectors.
“I know residents appreciate the financial constraints facing local government, but also that we are well-placed as a council to bring together the contributions of everyone with a stake in Swindon’s future. We know the Council needs to do a better job of listening and engaging residents and the communities we serve, building on the positive start that informed this plan.”
You can find out more about the Swindon plan here.