Day and Night at Whalebridge

Swindon's Kimmerfields phase 1 Whalebridge car park by Ed Howell and I, by day and by night.

The Lost Streets of Swindon

When Ed Howell and I photographed the demolition of Swindon College at Regent Circus, we didn't expect to find an entire street hidden on the site.

As we walked on a soaking wet day around the front of the site, passed the flat roof library, at the back of Byron Street, the mud had been churned up by the bulldozers. 

They'd scraped away the top layer of soil and just a few inches under the surface was the brickwork of the houses of the now (nearly entirely) lost Byron Street. 

The flat-roofed library building, which the original line of Byron street went through from left to right.

The double-brickwork of houses from the 1960s-demolished Byron Street.

Byron Street now exists as a small stub at Regent Circus, but the original street went north to south through the former Swindon College site.

How Byron Street use to look in 1957. This is looking south towards Old Town.

For more details on the photograph above, visit the Swindon Local Flickr account here.

I'll Leave The Outside Light On For You

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

Racing to a Finish

The latest progress on the Kimmerfields (Union Square) Phase 1 development :

Swindon's Union Square by Blue Skies

Blue skies! Quick as you can!

The Union Square car park is rapidly catching up in height to it's neighbouring structure, the residential block.

Roundabout Quick-Win for Swindon Landmark

A landmark good-enough for Forward Swindon to use it to market the town, then we need to make it look like the landmark it is.

Ask any Swindon taxi driver what local landmark they most often are asked to take passengers to and it'll usually be the Magic Roundabout.

The stunning effort by York on their Holgate Mill roundabout justifiably deserves the Best in Britain award from the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society. But can Swindon do better?

At the moment the Magic Roundabout is, in one word : grey.

Reflecting our motoring heritage and present, the roundabouts could feature different vehicles previously and currently built in Swindon, along with more greenery, lighting, and maybe some digital displays.

This cinderella landmark needs to reflect what it is, a gateway to the town, we need to put a proud stamp on it that says, 'welcome to Swindon'.

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 Empty College And The Lost Artist of Swindon College

Here's the booty I salvaged from a small empty office in the old Swindon College demolition back in May. Previously hanging on the wall, it was propped up behind the door against the wall, either from falling off, or maybe someone else had spotted it and was preparing to take it to another home?  

My question is, who painted it and who was it who liked it enough to have it framed and displayed on the wall?

Swindon's Regeneration : Frozen In Time

You know a place is special when it gives off an atmosphere, a feeling that you can't quite put your finger on. These combine to convey the importance, effectiveness and the weight of a place.

With the crane still and the clock frozen at 11 minutes past 5.

 I had that feeling the instant I stepped into the Long Shop, the last remaining building on the old rail works site in Swindon without a use. The air had a thick smell of engine oil, no doubt the smell has seeped into the structure since it's opening in 1847. The thick walls and floor gave the place that cathedral-like peacefulness, there was no sound of traffic, or of passersby. A couple of times a train ran past and the calm was briefly interrupted.

The sunlight was streaming through the south-facing windows, giving a regular pattern on the dust-covered floor. The Long Shop originally closed for business in 1986 and is frozen in time. Stopped clocks are complimented by the locker-rooms which still have rail workers names on them.

26 years since Davies and Jones used these lockers in the former British Rail Long Shop

The owners of the Long Shop and the majority of the former Works site are Henderson Global Investors (who own the management company for the Outlet, McArthurGlen) and at the end of the month their plans for a £35 million extension of the centre into the Long Shop will be decided.

After so long, this place that hangs heavy with the memories of the past, will be visited by millions of people into the future.

Swindon's Regeneration : The Plan We've Been Waiting For

At it's core, regeneration is one person building something new out of nothing. A lone contractor at Swindon's Union Square.

One of the criticisms of Swindon's development has been it's lack of joined-up-thinking, this applies very much to our town centre. With the publication of the Swindon Masterplan Draft, a document is finally worthy of consideration for fixing that problem.

At 203 pages, it covers a vast number of areas, with detailed plans for each.

On first glance, it seems to do two things of immense importance that have historically been seen as only repelling each other. It recognises the historic details of areas (continuing streets on that have previously been obliterated) and how best buildings can be located or adapted for future focus and relevance (the recladding of the Signal Point building is a realistic prospect, unless money becomes forthcoming to replace one landmark with another that's of greater aesthetic value).

I'll look at the masterplan in greater detail soon. But the public exhibitions for the consultation on it (everyone's feedback will shape how the finalised masterplan turns out) start on Tuesday at the Central Library, details here.

Swindon's Regeneration : The Last Leg

Things from above.

The Swindon Railway Station Forecourt project has been dogged by obstacles, weather, utility companies and the need to keep the area open 24 hours a day without disrupting the operations of the station.

But in a short while, it'll all be done and looking down from above last week, the greenery is making a big impact. Once the paving is finished, a vast pedestrianised space will greet passengers, with seats, trees and what's called 'wayfinding' in evidence through the arrangement of the street furniture. Even if people don't notice the new map and sign in front of the main doors, the paving, arrangement of the trees and crossing will help to direct people towards the bus station and town centre.

Swindon's Regeneration : If You Crane Your Neck

You can't always see what's going on behind a worksite's hoarding, but when that beacon of regeneration arrives, the crane, everyone for miles knows somethings going on. It's already got company, a second one is now on the Union Square Phase 1 site.

Looking good against the blue sky.

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.

Swindon's Regeneration : A Change In The Air

A brooding sky, quiet street and birds circling overhead, give an unsettling feeling on Monday lunchtime.

Demolition sites can be fascinating places, allowing people to act like children and watch big machines crush buildings to dust. But give a change in the weather, a break in work and an absence of people and they can take on a sinister air.

The only sound alongside the breeze was the gentle hiss of the water spray.

With a moody sky, the hulking pile (for it's no longer a tower) of debris where the central tower once stood threw-out odd shapes against the sky. In Edmund Street, the breeze coming down Eastcott Hill rocked the access gates back and forth, squeaking and clattering on it's hinges. Behind the hoarding, the spray was left on, like a leaky steam pipe in a ship's empty boiler room. Small areas of dust would blow around the yard, bouncing off the walls.

On the hill, tables at The Beehive, overlooking the demolition were vacant, and streets were quiet, sitting in a purgatory. The neighbourhood seemed to know it was at a crossing point of eras, with time for the remaining one crumbling away like so much concrete dust.

Swindon's Regeneration : The Legacy

Curiosity across the generations at the former Swindon College Regent Circus site.

Often the legacy of regeneration is the least sure thing to predict or plan for. It's not exactly measurable or a tangible result, but the above picture I caught earlier today sums up one thing regeneration can do, it can spark an interest, a curiosity, maybe even a passion, in places around us.

The view looking north from the corner of the Beehive pub on Eastcott Hill.

The wider view of the Regent Circus site from the Central Library side.

Swindon's Regeneration : You Are Starting Here

Demolition of the former Swindon College Regent Street site from Edmund Street.

For a world that's increasingly experienced online, with events seen through a glass-look screen, regeneration is refreshingly different.

The Swindon College sign clings to the wall for a short time longer.

You can produce shiny websites and exciting, eye-catching artist's impressions of grand plans, but you've still got to physically build the project.

For those residents of Edmund Street coming back from work tonight, their view and street has quickly changed.

Until that physical activity happens, all those expectations and plans mean little.

Bite-sized chunks taken out of the roof, with the town hall clock tower in the background.

The demolition of the former Swindon College began last week and the residents of Edmund Street are currently getting a grandstand view. The view of the workshop buildings will just be a memory in a few days, as they're the first structures on the site to come down with the demolition.

Our regeneration starts here, in unassuming Edmund Street.

A Nod to the Past, a Turn to the Future

I was last at Swindon College at Regent Circus as a student in 2001.

I last went into the building in, about 2004.

After passing by it thousands of times when open and, with increasing concern in the last few years as it's started to resemble a hulking ruin, today was special.

Today I got see the old college building behind the hoardings.

It's not a pretty sight. You'd be lucky to find a dozen windows that aren't broken in the entire place, much of value has been stripped out, pipework, wiring, etc. Fellow regeneration photographer (not sure if that's a genre, but we're using it on our business cards!) Ed Howell and I took a walk-around with site manager Steve from Wring Group, the contractor given the task by developer Ashfield Land to bring the college down safely. 

The Principal's parking space.

The first buildings to come down, that have had the asbestos removal works done, will be the workshops at the rear. The main college block building itself is off limits to everyone except the asbestos contractor. Another issue is bats living in the tops of the two main block stairwells, which a special, well, batman comes in to carefully remove! 

In one of the workshops, a pile of sanding and cutting discs await collection for recycling.

6 years of flytipping, squatters remnants and overgrowth has to be cleared too. 

This sign looks vaguely familiar, maybe they were staring at me whilst I was sat in lectures in 2000!

If there was a physical representation of Swindon's historic attitude towards town centre rebuilding, the college building would be it. Quickly outdated, broken, unused and looming large on the skyline.

 Looming large on the skyline, but like the old college building, not for long. 

Update : A greater selection of images are now on Flickr, just click here.

All the equipment, brushes and canvases have gone, but the evidence of the art department lingers on.

Looking into the library, from the rear access road, the windows in the background look out onto Regent Circus.

The workshop on the right will be being demolished next week, for those living on  Edmund Street, the view is about to change, forever.

The Cultural Landscape of the City

At a time of recession and weak recovery, how do you kick-start investment in a town that used to be the 'fastest-growing town in Europe'?

For the first project in the Foundation Degree course, I documented the work commissioned by Forward Swindon, the regeneration company owned by Swindon Borough Council. With many major private-sector led town centre regeneration projects put on-hold, a decision was taken to improve the 'public realm': streets, public spaces and thoroughfares in the main shopping areas.

This work was to give confidence to businesses, investors and the public that investment in the town was still happening and Swindon was committed to regeneration.

Working alongside Forward Swindon and the lead contractor on the work, Skanska, I documented the work on Regent Street and Canal Walk.

For more pictures from this project, click the link on the right to be taken to Flickr, or click here.

Links
Canal Walk project : http://www.forwardswindon.co.uk/for-development/projects/canal-walk

Regent Street project : http://www.forwardswindon.co.uk/for-development/projects/regent-street

Green Walls project : http://www.forwardswindon.co.uk/for-development/projects/green-wall

Stacked Wall Fountain : http://www.forwardswindon.co.uk/for-development/projects/stacked-wall