Swindon Council has appointed property advice group Bilfinger GVA to identify joint venture partners interested in giving Lydiard House and Park a more sustainable future.
The council, which owns the Palladian manor house and its 260-acre country park, is seeking to reduce its £450,000 annual subsidy. It has already placed adverts in trade journals and newspapers inviting organisations to submit proposals.
The plan forms part of the council’s leisure and culture commissioning change programme, under which it last year leased the borough’s leisure and golf facilities. 
A section of the park has already been leased to tree top adventure company Jungle Parc and it also regularly hires out the park for events.
Lydiard House Conference Centre’s lease is due to expire next year and the council believes it could form the basis of potential proposals.
Lydiard House – the ancestral home of the Viscounts Bolingbroke which was bought by the council in 1943 – and its park are listed as an Asset of Community Value and will remain in council ownership, with any proposals arising from what the council is calling “market testing” will go before ward councillors and park users.
The council is seeking expressions of interest from national, commercial and not-for-profit organisations as well as local community groups. The deadline for proposals is December 11.
The council will also be holding two engagement events at the visitor centre – on Wednesday, November 18, between 8.30am and 3pm, and on Sunday November 22 between 9.30am and 3.30pm – for park users to give their views on what elements of the park are important to them.
Cabinet member responsible for Lydiard House and Park, Cllr Garry Perkins, said: “We have to make Lydiard pay for itself which is why we are asking if the market can come up with some commercial solutions to help achieve this goal.
“We want to enhance the park for the people of Swindon and this process will hopefully provide some exciting opportunities that will make Lydiard even better. I would also like to encourage members of the public to take part in the engagement events we are holding so we can take their views into account when assessing the proposals.”
Bilfinger GVA director in retail, hotels and leisure David Creamore added: “We are delighted to have been instructed by Swindon Borough Council to identify and secure exciting proposals for the development and enhancement of this historic property and grounds.”
