Swindon Borough Council

A group of young people have got their claws into the task of bringing Swindon’s famous gharial back to Museum & Art Swindon 🐊🏛️ Working alongside the team at MAS, the group have been working to make sure the gharial can be put back on display for everyone to enjoy, while also explaining the animal’s complex history. Since it was given to the Council in 1931, the gharial (fondly known as the Swindon Croc) has been displayed in a number of exhibitions. However, it is yet to appear in its new home after being sent for some much-needed restoration work and to allow the MAS team to put together its own dedicated exhibition. While the arrival of the gharial is getting closer, work is still ongoing to make sure the exhibition space is set up to receive the fifteen-foot long beast. Further updates will follow in the coming weeks. Find out more about the ongoing work to create the new exhibition here: https://lnkd.in/eE7zaQY6

We are committed to building a fairer Swindon by welcoming people seeking sanctuary. With the combined efforts of residents, local businesses and the Council, we are working to become a more welcoming and inclusive town, where we can learn, embed and share the voices and needs of those seeking sanctuary. In January 2025, we invited local businesses and people with lived experience to share stories and discuss how the Council and large organisations across Swindon can be more welcoming to people seeking sanctuary. Doing so helped our efforts for Swindon to become an officially accredited Borough of Sanctuary. We are pleased to announce another event on the 1 May. If you have expertise that may help, or represent and organisation that is interested in being part of this journey, we’d like to hear from you. To express interest in supporting the Council’s work, fill out the form : https://lnkd.in/edHy_8_c

Helping students take the first step in their careers 👨💼👩💼 Year 10 and 11 students from across Swindon and Wiltshire recently took part in the ‘Think Wider’ work experience programme, which is a two-day initiative delivered in collaboration with Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The event offered students the chance to explore careers in healthcare and local government, discover local apprenticeship routes and hear directly from professionals and current apprentices. Programmes like this are part of the Council’s wider commitment to creating a #FairerSwindon, providing opportunities for young people and supporting a more inclusive and equitable future for Swindon.

A new floral mural has been created on the side of the old Debenhams building in the town centre 🌻 As part of the work to transform Fleming Way, the new mural has been painted by HazardOne behind some of the new bus shelters. Haz also created the mural at the back of H&M, behind the recently installed toilet block. Work to turn the road into a new bus interchange with an improved public realm and a green corridor is entering its final stages and, when complete, will rejuvenate the key gateway into the town centre. Visitors arriving into the town centre by train, bus or bike will enjoy a vastly-improved public realm, with more than 181 trees and 23,000 plants and bushes being planted. It will also include new bus shelters which feature more space, to allow for better accessibility for those in wheelchairs, wireless charging, wired charging ports, digital screens and solar panels. The road is due to open later this Summer. #BetterSwindon

A special council-organised investment summit at the House of Lords last month has led to several positive meetings and conversations with potential investors keen to find out about the opportunities available in Swindon. More than 50 national regeneration and residential investors joined senior figures in key government agencies, educational institutions as well as arts and culture organisations in Westminster to hear about the Council’s ‘Heart of Swindon’ vision and why now is an ideal time to put their money into the town. And, following the hugely successful event, councillors at last night’s Build a Better Swindon Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee were told that interest in Swindon is strong. To build on the momentum, an investment prospectus is currently being drawn up which will promote the opportunity to be part of delivering up to 8,000 new homes and amenities to support a Swindon population growing much faster than the national average. The prospectus will also outline shovel-ready projects to longer-term strategic sites that can come forward in a phased manner over the next five to 10 years. You can find out more about the Council’s ‘Heart of Swindon’ vision on the website: https://ow.ly/Zip650VAMR6. #ShowcasingSwindon

🚧🚗Update on Fleming Way🌲🚧 As part of the ongoing work to transform Fleming Way, the new dedicated cycle paths are in the process of being tarmacked. The new routes connected the Eastern and Western Flyers through the town, allowing cyclists to easily cross Swindon. As part of the scheme, bike users will have dedicated lanes on the road close to the centre and alongside the bus lanes. They will also be controlled by traffic lights to allow pedestrians to safely cross the road. Alongside the work to create the cycle lanes, planting has continued to introduce more greenery to the area. More than 180 trees and thousands of shrubs and bushes are being planted, with those already in place starting to bloom in the Spring sunshine. This will help enhance the environment, support local wildlife, and with some of the trees and bushes also being planted in The Parade and other public realm areas, make the walk between the town centre and bus and train stations a lot more pleasant.

Swindon Borough Council are on an exciting journey to transform service delivery and have been shortlisted for the ‘Most Improved Council’ at the Local Government Awards (LGA).   We are at a pivotal moment in investing in our Corporate Landlord Function which will be key to the delivery of the Council’s services and the delivery of our wider ambitions to promote inward investment, deliver inclusive growth outcomes for the residents of Swindon, accelerate new housing and support the delivery of high profile regeneration projects in our town centre. View our vision https://lnkd.in/ePHMVGDc   We are keen to develop new and innovative ways of working to maximise the efficiency and performance of our land and property assets to enable the effective delivery of our front-line services. As such we are looking for highly motivated, commercially aware and solutions focused individuals who can hit the ground running and contribute to the deliverables within the Swindon Plan. View our Swindon Plan https://lnkd.in/esRVCpeS   Why not join us on that journey? We are now recruiting to the following roles:   ·      Portfolio Managers ·      Property Management Surveyor ·      Graduate Management Surveyor ·      Energy Officer ·      Development and Land & Property Disposal Officer   🔎 You can read more about the exciting opportunities and apply on our careers page https://lnkd.in/eztjyhRS   If you feel you can add value to Swindon Borough Council we are keen to hear from you.   We also offer a comprehensive total reward package for our staff, consisting of competitive pay, generous annual leave and much more, you can find more information on the range of benefits we offer on our Rewards and Benefits page https://lnkd.in/ef8GbQ-Y   Join us and Swindon will be better with you. 👏 #localgov #hiring #propertymanagement

A new paid internship programme for young people with experience of care is now underway at the Council – and it kicked off with an outreach event at The Base, marking the first event to take place there since the youth centre opened at the end of March. Supported by £66,000 in funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the six-month pilot scheme will offer eight young people aged 18+ the chance to gain valuable work experience, develop key skills and build confidence. Internships are expected to begin in the Spring and will include 15 hours of paid work per week, supported by an employment coach, personal adviser and access to tailored training from our Adult Community Learning team. The aim is to support young people into sustained employment or apprenticeships, with the pilot helping shape a longer-term model for future opportunities. The roles have been promoted directly to young people with care experience through our Positive Futures team.

We are committed to building a fairer Swindon by welcoming people seeking sanctuary. With the combined efforts of residents, local businesses and the Council, we are working to become a more welcoming and inclusive town, where we can learn, embed and share the voices and needs of those seeking sanctuary. In January 2025, we invited local businesses and people with lived experience to share stories and discuss how the Council and large organisations across Swindon can be more welcoming to people seeking sanctuary. Doing so helped our efforts for Swindon to become an officially accredited Borough of Sanctuary. We are pleased to announce another event on the 1 May. If you have expertise that may help, or represent and organisation that is interested in being part of this journey, we’d like to hear from you. To express interest in supporting the Council’s work, fill out the form : https://lnkd.in/edHy_8_c

The views of more than 600 rail passengers will be used to inform ambitious plans to transform Swindon railway station and the surrounding area. 🚄 The regeneration scheme, known as Swindon Knowledge Central, aims to capitalise on existing investment in the nearby Carriage Works by attracting further private sector involvement and could see over 100 acres of brownfield land next to the railway redeveloped, creating a new high-quality commercial district within Swindon town centre, thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new homes. Partners working with the Council on the plans include Network Rail, GWR, Homes England, Department for Business and Trade and Business West. Along with the repurposing of existing land, Swindon’s station is a Network Rail priority for regeneration, following successful projects to upgrade Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central stations Homes England recently provided £100,000 to progress designs for a new northern entrance to the railway station as well as a new multi-storey car park to enable the car parks on Station Road to be redeveloped. In order to inform the regeneration, people using the railway station were asked for their views on the current facilities and what they would like to see in the future. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/e-5G6xaF #BetterSwindon