Ink Heritage Focus: Now is the time for Swindon to show it cares for its heritage
The Ink Heritage Briefing Thursday 21 September
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This is the second of our monthly ‘Heritage focus’ editions which will normally appear on the second Thursday of every month. The first Thursday is ‘Business’, and the second Thursday of the month will be ‘Education’, and the final Thursday will be ‘Food & Drink’.
Fairly or not, Swindon is hardly known for its commitment to preserving historic buildings - but now we all have the chance to change that
Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet agreed yesterday evening on an ambitious public engagement drive to help decide the future of the borough’s historic sites. Whenever matters related to heritage are mentioned, many a Swindon person raises a weary eyebrow as they recall all manner of past failings, but we should put those feelings aside and grasp the opportunity. The history of this community, like that of any community, is the property of its people.
By Barrie Hudson
At a meeting yesterday evening, the - relatively - new Swindon Borough Council Cabinet considered and duly agreed an item headed: “Community Engagement to inform an Action Plan for Swindon’s Heritage.”
Like most item headings in council agendas the length and breadth of Britain, it was necessarily not the snappiest and most compelling, but its implications are very compelling indeed. Under the heading, in black and white, was a commitment to use the results of that engagement to form a heritage action plan for the whole of the borough.
In other words, if the latest Swindon Borough Council administration fails to act as comprehensively as possible on the public response, it leaves itself open to many of the criticisms levelled at earlier administrations over their attitudes not just to heritage but also to consultations - and the members of the public who take part in them.
The other side of that coin, of course, is that those who fail to grasp the opportunity to voice their thoughts will have only themselves to blame for that failure.
Cllr Marina Strinkovsky, Cabinet Member for Heritage, Art and Culture, said: “Swindon has such a deep and interesting history, something everyone in the town can be proud of.
“There are a lot of heritage landmarks in the borough that are loved by residents, and we saw how much interest there was in them when they were all open during Heritage Open Days at the start of the month.
“Soon the Council will be launching a consultation asking what residents want to see happen to these locations, and what people’s thoughts are about the future of the buildings.