From Construction to Campaign

 From the photograph taken below on-site in January last year at Regent Circus...

... to the full-size ad in December's Wiltshire Business magazine....

... and half-page ad in this March's edition.

Opening Hours

Careful, don't get locked in.

Blue Skies Finally, About Time

Toon Night

Newcastle's bridges, Quayside and skyline.

The Tyne Bridge, Quayside, The Guidhall, Cale Cross House, Swan House and All Saints Church.

The High Level Bridge with St. James Park, the Castle Keep and St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Keeping The Lights On

Eggborough Power Station. Power for 2 million homes, all in one photograph.

New Year, New King's Cross

People Watching

The Westbound District Line platform at Westminster Underground Station at 12.20pm on Saturday. It looks like everyone in the picture is a tourist.

Click on the picture to enlarge and do some close-up people watching.

The Angel of the North by Antony Gormley (Sir)

The Sculptor Antony Gormley has been knighted in the New Year's Honours List.

The Angel approves.

New & Old History

It's only been two years since these photographs were taken and already the regeneration has taken a bite out of the past. Some places and views have changed markedly, and others are exactly the same.

For New Falcon House, time stands still.

Whalebridge with the roundabout slowly vanishing. This view is no longer possible as the first stage of the Kimmerfields development sits in the wasteground at the front of the picture.

Don't trip over the kerb.

Broadgreen.

1980s Brutalism

1980s Brutalism (with shoulder pads)

I'll Leave The Outside Light On For You

From the top of Swindon's Signal Point building on a chilly evening.

Halloween

Some pictures from the archive of Halloweens past, complete with carved pumpkins and flickering candles.

Swindon's Regeneration : The People Under The Hard Hats

Wring Group site manager Steve surveys the scene on the last day of demolition work on the former Swindon College Regent Circus site.

Planners, designers, architects, consultants, councillors, engineers and more. The list of people who are involved in urban regeneration can easily stretch to Christmas-list proportions.

But what about the contractors themselves? They're the people who go onto cold, windswept sites at all hours, on the front-line for criticism from anyone, site neighbours, motorists, passersby, it's a job few people would envy.

The one person who's been responsible for the old Swindon College demolition from beginning to today's end is Site Manager Steve from Wring Group. On the nearly thirty site visits fellow photographer Ed Howell and I have made, from the security of the site to the careful asbestos removal, to the weather hampering the work to equipment problems, we've seen a hell of a lot.

Just a few days after major demolitions works began in May, the view from Edmund Street.

So in the long story of Swindon's town centre regeneration, those people like Steve should be recognised for their dedication and professionalism.

Swindon's Regeneration : Thank You & Good Night

The final job on the demolition works at the old Swindon College site in Regents Circus

The very last part of demolition works at the old Swindon College site this lunchtime, with crushing of a small area of tarmac from the car park.

The Metroland Effect on Swindon's Housing?

How much extra monetary value would you put on making your commute shorter?

If your journey to and from work could be reduced by 5 or 10 minutes, how much value would you put on that?

That's an extra 10 minutes eating breakfast, or an extra 10 minutes talking face-to-face to your family, or an extra 10 minutes asleep!

The value placed on the time saved through the reduced journey times between London and Bristol with the Great Western Main Line upgrade is expected to be millions added to the collective value of houses in the city.

A cut of 20 minutes on the journey time will save commuters more time and increase the attractiveness of Bristol and in the same upgrade, Swindon should come down to the 45 minute journey time mark (this is a modest estimation based on the speed and length of the route, under 45 minutes would be possible with a recasting of the timetable).

You could leave a workplace in London, travel to Swindon and be in your home within the hour, what an opportunity!

Notes : Metroland was the name given to the areas of the expanded Metropolitan Railway north west of London which was heavily tied and influenced by housebuilding and essentially created the modern definition of commuting.

The New Look For Retail... In Swindon?

Consumers are remaining cautious when it comes to shopping and for the retail giants innovation and marketing has become more important than ever. We've seen the growth of 'click and collect' at lots of retailers, but will a combination of the comforts of online shopping at the personal touch of great customer service drive the creation of a new type of store? That's what Marks & Spencer's thinking is.

Could new or redeveloped stores in the middle of Swindon be built around these principles?

While trialling new ideas in retail, could it drive regeneration too?

Swindon's Regeneration : The Lost Treasures of Swindon

The science, mathematics and technology-themed artwork.

Sitting quietly amongst the wreckage of the old Swindon College, unnoticed, undamaged, were a few pieces of treasure. 

As briefly blogged about back in May, the stairwells of the main building had a piece of artwork on each half-landing. I don't know how long they'd been there, but I remember passing them on the stairs in 1999.

The music-based artwork can just be seen at the top of the stairs.

Sitting on pieces of plyboard, around 5 feet in height, the majority were in the main stairwell of the main block. A large landscape of Swindon was especially striking, with another being a collage of mathematic equations, chemistry symbols and scientific drawings.

Another was music-based, with musical notes on sheet music and portraits.

Does anyone remember the artwork?

I had intended to try and save them and possibly find a home for the pieces, but they were taken down in the stripping-out of the college.

However, all was not lost.

One piece, an abstract work created by a student was deemed good enough for a staff member to have it on the wall in an office on the 3rd floor. While on a site visit, I carefully carried it across the glass walkway between the main block and tower and edged down the crumbling stairs, passed the pieces that were not to be saved. In a large clip-frame, I carried it through town and took it home. 

It sits safe and saved. An often-asked question is, what would you save in a fire? What single, or handful of items would you drag out to safety. 

Maybe the question for some should be, what will you save from the regeneration? On demolition and construction sites workers often have the pick of items left behind or the few highlights poking from a skip due to go nowhere but landfill. 

The landscape artwork.

So amongst the faceless and everyday pieces of administration stuck behind empty filing cabinets and yellowing memos pined to noticeboards, the kings of these forgotten artefacts hung proudly on the walls, giving flashes of colour, creativity and the legacy of the college that will long outlive these pieces we lost in the rubble.

Swindon's Regeneration : Welcome to Union Square

The Phase 1 area of Union Square on the former Police Station site between Princes Street,  Gordon Road and Fleming Way. An 850 space multi-storey car park, 45 sheltered housing units, space for the new NHS walk-in centre and offices are currently being built.

Sometimes a regeneration is so big, there's only one way to see it from, above. So, yes, you've guessed it, another rooftop!

This time, the roof of the Jurys Inn on the corner of Fleming Way and Princes Street gives a perfect spot to watch the changing face of Swindon with the Union Square project. 

The first phase of works on Union Square is completed, the new Whalebridge junction.

On the vast empty plots of land around Princes Street, Fleming Way, Corporation Street and Manchester Road the project will provide 650,000 square feet of office space, room for a new NHS Walk-In Centre, a 100-bed hotel, 150,000 square feet of retail, cafe and restaurant space, 450 residential units, an 850 space multi-storey car park, a new bus station, lowering of Fleming Way, a new public square, new road junctions at Whalebridge and Gordon Road, and new public spaces.

Piling work has started on the Union Square Phase 1 area.

The work on Union Square is phased over 10 to 15 years, a scheme of this type has never been seen in Swindon before. It will entirely change the town centre, there's no doubt about that. The first phase is well underway on the land of the former Police Station between Gordon Road, Fleming Way and Princes Street. The car park, sheltered housing units, and offices are currently being built (space will be provided for the NHS Walk-In Centre on the Phase 1 site).

The land in the middle-ground, the open car park, walk-in centre and fenced space will be Union Square Phases 3 and 6.

The Union Square project will stretch all the way along Corporation Street to the junction of Manchester Road and then along to the present bus station at New Bridge Square. The current bus station and multi-storey carpark, along with the vacant land will be brought back into use for houses, offices, shops and public spaces. One interesting touch in the design is the resurrection of several former street and road lines that were lost when the land was previously developed. The line of Broad Street and Carfax Street is retained and the line of Gordon Road will continue across Fleming Way. Because the majority of Union Square is based around a pedestrianised centre space, making the new development inviting for people as a thoroughfare is central to the design of it's layout.

An artist's impression of the Union Square project, looking immediately north of Fleming Way. The Zurich Tri Centre is the white building, with the buildings in the right foreground occupying the site of the former Post Office. These buildings are Phase 2, with the buildings across the new public square Phases 4 and 5.

What are currently empty, unwelcoming spaces in the very centre of Swindon will be brought back into use where people will live, work and relax.

For Union Square and Swindon, it's just the beginning.

Photography & Deckchair Weather

Work continues apace on Swindon Railway Station's forecourt. With blazing sunshine and a 17 degree temperature everyone was in a great mood, plus it was a Friday, so that helped!

The retaining wall by the new drop-off point.

Today's visit saw the retaining wall by the new drop-off point (located just along Station Road) nearing completion with the concrete now covered in tiling.

The paved area leading from the station entrance doors, across the forecourt, over Station Road and towards Wellington Street. Four different shades of paving have been used and a splash of water shows the varying tones. 

Big areas of concrete continue to vanish under all the different shapes, sizes, colours and textures of paving. Dan washed down a section of the main walkway that will lead across Station Road. Instantly, with the dust washed off, you could make out the four shades of paving used in this one section. At the moment, the entire site is covered in a layer of fine white dust, a wash will give the whole space a dramatically different look (especially to the Britannia team and regular visitors). 

A new light column ready to be installed.

The new light columns are in the process of being installed, making an interesting contrast with the originals (which are still in original Great Western Trains green and ivory from 1996!).

From the roof, the reality starts to really resemble the plans and drawings.

The current view from Swindon Railway Station's Signal Point building.

In the next week or so, the central area will be opened to the public, whilst work shifts to the areas that are currently open. Once they're done, all the pieces will become one new pedestrian forecourt for Swindon.

New forecourt soon arriving!

Come On Swindon!

A piece of artwork to showcase Swindon Town's appearance at Wembley on Sunday is being produced right now on Swindon's Whalebridge roundabout.

Mark Amis started off this morning drawing out from the plan produced by BBC Wiltshire after Graham Mack (the station's breakfast show presenter) wondered whether we should paint the town red for the big match.

Curves, Vertigo & Wind Chill (And Wembley)

The shape of the paving, starting to resemble the drawings in the site office, as seen from 12-storeys up (click on the images for a closer look).

Looking over a wall isn't normally encouraged, especially so when the wall has a 12-storey drop over the other side of it!

Today saw a second visit to the roof of Swindon Railway Station's Signal Point building, continuing the Swindon Rail Station project.

Graham and Dan from Britannia (the contractor for the work) also came up for a look. Just before, in the site office, they showed the highly-detailed plan for the paving on the forecourt. Areas of different paving are separated by intersecting, curved lines (inspired by the gradual curved map lines of the Great Western Railway).

At ground level, the paving, curves and yet-to-be-filled plots of ground looks like a headache-inducing jigsaw puzzle, but through a handheld device (it was yellow and looked like one of those electronic signing devices when a parcel's delivered), the exact places are plotted and followed to the designer's letter.

Zooming in, the smooth curves and shapes of the design can be seen and understood, giving a flavour of what the finished forecourt will look like (click on the image for a closer look).

From the roof, seeing the initial area of paving being worked on gave a great sense of what the finished work will look like and the style of the whole works.

We're planning to do weekly roof-top visits to give a better step-by-step sense of the work from this great bird's eye view.

And finally...

The County Ground, recovering after last night's pitch invasion and win, next stop Wembley, now, wouldn't that be something to photograph...! (Click on the image for a closer look)