A new water feature, living green walls, and lighting which changes colour with the weather will all be part of the transformation of Canal Walk in Swindon town centre, which begins later this month.
The £3.9m scheme will involve the removal of all the existing paving, street furniture, and advertising hoardings to make way for new high-quality stone paving, with new benches and lighting.
The overall design will have a ‘ribbon’ feature set into the paving which will run through the entire length of Canal Walk, with historical text about the old canal – which used to lie along the route – set into the stones.
The Jubilee Clock will be replaced by a new and specially-designed water feature, while the existing Golden Lion will be moved to a more prominent position at the junction of Canal Walk and Bridge Street.
Funding to pay for the work has come from the South West Regional Development Agency and a further £1m from the government’s ‘Growth Points’ fund.
Cllr Phil Young, Swindon Borough Council Cabinet member for Culture, Regeneration and Economic Development said: “This is another step towards a new, high-quality town centre for Swindon, and it won’t cost council tax payers a penny because it’s money the council has successfully bid for.
“Even though some of the bigger regeneration schemes have been stalled because of the national economic slowdown, we’re not allowing things to stagnate in Swindon, and this scheme will start to make a real difference to the feel of the town centre. Once this has finished, Regent Street will be next.”
The project is being managed on behalf of the council by The New Swindon Company, and is due to be completed by next February. It covers the whole of Jubilee Square, and the entire length of Canal Walk to Wharf Green. It will be organised to avoid minimum disruption to shoppers and retailers, with access to stores and shops maintained at all times. The contractor is Skanska Infrastructure Ltd, who have been involved with the successful public realm redevelopment at St Davids 2 in Cardiff.
Peter James, chief executive of The New Swindon Company, said: “The launch of Wharf Green last year made a big difference to the town centre, and I have no doubt that the innovative new design for Canal Walk will have just as positive an impact.
“We are also pleased to announce that Skanska has been appointed as contractor for this scheme – as a company with a very good reputation, we are sure they will play an integral role in delivering a new and improved Canal Walk.”
Gerry Curran, project director of Skanska, said: “We are delighted to be playing a big part in creating a vibrant environment that will attract visitors and shoppers to the centre of Swindon. The effective implementation to a high quality finish will be one of Skanska’s main objectives for the Canal Walk Project”.
Much of the material and street furniture removed from Canal Walk during the work will be recycled, with the existing block paving, benches and lighting re-used in other building projects. It is hoped that these measures will meet the strict criteria for the scheme to be awarded a top rating in the national CEEQUAL awards scheme, run by the Institution of Civil Engineers, which aims to promote environmental excellence in all public realm projects.
