Key purchase for town's revamp

Regeneration plans for the centre of Swindon have taken a leap forward with the purchase of a key site.

English Partnerships, a national regeneration agency, has bought the town's bus depot for redevelopment.

The 2.5-acre site will be a central part of 'The Exchange', a commercial area to be built next to Fleming Way.

Peter Andrews, chief executive of The New Swindon Company, the group behind the project, said: "This is a significant step."

The Exchange will also feature housing, shops, cafes and restaurants.

New life

The regeneration plans were unveiled by The New Swindon Company, a not-for-profit group, in July.

Work on the scheme is due to begin in the next two years.

However, the proposals have not be welcomed by everyone in the town.

The Swindon Civic Trust, an organisation which aims to pioneer improvements in urban life, slammed the plans as "unimaginative".

It claimed the scheme should include a new university campus, which would help inject new life into the town centre.