After almost six years of delays, Swindon College is finally coming down.
Developer Ashfield Land has faced many delays since acquiring the site in Regent Circus in 2006, but has appointed contractor Wring Demolition to start pulling down the eyesore.
Council leader Rod Bluh and Forward Swindon originally said the contractor intended to move in to start demolition today, but Ashfield Land director James Digby said he did not know where that date came from.
The £50 million project includes a 52,000 sq ft Morrisons superstore, eight restaurants and bars, a 30,000 sq ft six-screen Cineworld cinema and a 450-space car park.
Preparatory work has already started with the removal of trees around the site. The college car park was closed on April 5 because the space will become part of the demolition site and then part of the frontage for the new development.
“A demolition contract has been let to Wring Group. Now, before they can start on site, there’s a number of things to go through, for example liaising with the statutory authorities in terms of service disconnections in the area,” Digby says.
Read more here.
