Canal Walk
Groundbreaking ceremony signals full speed ahead
The first spade hit the ground this week as work officially began on the £3.9m scheme to improve the public realm facilities at Canal Walk– one of Swindon’s busiest shopping areas.
Members of Swindon Borough Council, South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) – the project’s main funder – and The New Swindon Company met with main contractor, Skanska, to celebrate the completion of site preparation works and the ‘official’ beginning of public realm improvements for the area.
Canal Walk is set to be transformed into a welcoming open space which will see the removal of all the existing paving, street furniture, and advertising hoardings to make way for new high-quality stone paving, benches and lighting. A new water feature will serve as a focal point alongside living green walls and other exciting architectural features.
Cllr. Phil Young, Swindon Borough Council Cabinet member for Culture, Regeneration and Economic Development said: “Today is an important milestone for Swindon as work gets underway on Canal Walk. This forms an important part of the wider transformation of public realm facilities within the town centre and will serve to make a real difference to the look and feel of the area for the people who live, work and visit here.
Dylan Thompson, Project Manager at Skanska, commented: “The first dig is an exciting day for everyone involved in the Canal Walk project. In the last couple of weeks we have been preparing the site and setting up facilities for the workforce and the next steps will be to take up the paving in an agreed phased sequence whilst liaising with the public and all of the stakeholders. We will also complete the removal of various items of street furniture to maximize the open space during the works with the safety of all being paramount at all times. We are looking forward to working closely with all parties to deliver this prestigious scheme for Swindon.”
Alison Hatcher, the South West RDA’s head of regeneration for Swindon and Wiltshire, said: “This is an important milestone in the regeneration of the town. We have made our substantial investment in this project because it will help to improve the town centre including helping to tackle empty units, creating construction jobs now and helping to create the conditions for private sector investment as market confidence returns.”
The project is being managed on behalf of the council by The New Swindon Company, and is due to be completed 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, with access to stores and shops maintained at all times.
The majority of the funding for the work has come from the South West RDA, with a further £1million from the government’s ‘Growth Points’ fund.
25/08/2009