Fleming Way reopens after three years of development works
The project took almost a year longer than expected
Swindon’s new £33m bus boulevard is opening to the public today.
Fleming Way is replacing the old Swindon Bus Station and will serve as a hub for all public local and national busses.
Access is restricted to busses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians, with private cars having to divert around the road.
Heidi Alexander, Swindon South MP and Secretary of State for Transport, said: “When you come here, you see this fabulous new bus interchange, a really high-quality scheme. I think it gives you a little bit of a glimpse into the future about how Swindon town centre could be and should be and so, it is an exciting moment for the town.
“Lots of people have spoken to me in the past about how they just feel so sad about the way that the town centre has declined. And so, the fact that this is something brand-new in the heart of Swindon and that has been done well, even though it has tried peoples’ patience, is fantastic.”
When construction work started at Fleming Way in April 2022, it was due to finish in Autumn 2024.
In September 2022, Swindon Borough Council's then-Conservative administration said it was "as confident as it can be" that the deadline would be met.
However, council leader Jim Robbins revealed in July 2023 that the regeneration had been severely delayed due to construction workers finding unexpected utilities, such as electrical cables and extra pipes, under the road.
He said the new completion date would instead be late-2025 "at the earliest" – a deadline that has now been met.
“I think people have been really fed up with all of the disruption that has happened but often when you’re doing infrastructure projects, there is a lot of pain before you get the gain”, Heidi Alexander added.
“I think when people start to use it and they can see what a difference it makes to the way the town centre feels then I think that some of those frustrations they’ve had over the last couple of years might hopefully start to fade away a little bit and this scheme might be something that starts attracting people into the town centre again.”
Apart from the bus boulevard, Fleming Way now sports newly installed cycle lanes that connect the town centre to the Eastern and Western Flyers as well as a “vastly improved” public realm with better wheelchair accessibility, wireless charging and more than 180 trees and 23,000 plants and bushes.
According to the scheme’s initial business case, the development is set to increase Swindon’s economic productivity by £28.7m over its first 20 years.
Council leader Jim Robbins said: “This is just the first step in improving the town centre and encouraging the private sector to invest in Swindon.
“We’ve already seen Zurich and FI Real Estate Management showing great confidence in the town centre and we’re working closely with other landlords and organisations to improve other areas close by.”
Earlier this year, the council leader and other Swindon Borough Council representatives presented their Heart of Swindon plans at Number 10 Downing Street and held an event at the House of Lords to draw in investors.