Over £30m Swindon regeneration project to face a huge delay

Plans to complete a £33m public transport regeneration project in Swindon have fallen off track as they are now facing a delay of at least a year.

In October 2022 work began on a new public transport project in Swindon known as ‘The Fleming Bus Boulevard’ scheme. The project includes new cycle and pedestrian routes, as well as plans for a new bus interchange.

The regeneration plan, which in total is costing £33m, was proposed to encourage investment into the Kimmerfield business district and to connect it better to Fleet Street and Bridge Street – areas of the town centre that look quite run down and would majorly benefit from an upgrade as they could become more attractive places to work.

However, the scheme was supposed to be complete by 2024, but senior councillors are now predicting it could be anywhere up to a year late.

In a briefing where the cabinet member for environment and transport, Chris Watts, was asked whether the project would be completed on time, he said; ‘It’s more likely to be the end of 2025.

‘It’s very challenging and the team here are working very hard on it.’

Highlighting some of the challenges the scheme has faced, Cllr Watts stated ‘uncharted utilities’ have slowed workers progress down as they are digging up pieces of road and uncovering water or gas pipes that they didn’t know where there.

Cllr Watts said: ‘Working down there [workers have found] gas mains, water mains and live electricity cables which nobody, not even the utility companies, knew were there. There were three 30,000-volt cables.

‘You have to call the utility company, and they say they’ll be there in four weeks. And under law it’s the council that has to pay to get the pipes moved. So these things do add cost and delay to these projects.’

Despite these setbacks, Cllr Watts has also outlined that there is one silver lining.

‘The delay has allowed us to do a bit of redesign and better focus on sustainable travel, and we’ve designed the cycle route better to make it safer and to join it up with Flyer routes,’ Cllr Watts said. ‘As a new cabinet member it was clear from my first briefing with the project team that there were pressures on this project when we took control of the council in May.’

Image: Swindon Borough Council