\n
The Mechanics, which dates from the middle of the 19th century, is in a poor state and had been behind hoardings for year. Now, it looks as if the council\u2019s patience with Mr Singh had finally run out.<\/p>\n
But, it has warned, part of the compulsory purchase order process is that a new user for the building must be identified before it starts, and that may yet be the stumbling block.<\/p>\n
The borough council\u2019s cabinet member for heritage issues Dale Heenan, has been working with Historic England and the Mechanics\u2019 Institution Trust to identify a solution.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cFor the first time all of the right people are at the table collaborating and we can demonstrate that there is a sustainable future for one of Swindon\u2019s most treasured assets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will comprise a mixed-use facility that can accommodate a range of business, community and social functions such as weddings, proms, concerts, theatrical and other cultural uses.<\/p>\n
“What\u2019s more, there is a strategy to secure the necessary \u00a324m for restoration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Mechanics\u2019 is a complex jigsaw \u2013 you work out which pieces have edges and join them, then slowly build up the picture.<\/p>\n
“If you jump to trying to find the right pieces that fit in the centre of the picture, then you\u2019ve made it 10 times more difficult. There is a plan and we are following it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to the collective efforts of Historic England, the Mechanics\u2019 Institute Trust, Theatres Trust and the council, I am pleased to recommend to cabinet a way forward for the Mechanics\u2019, and that includes authorising council officers to prepare whatever is required for a compulsory purchase order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coun Heenan added: \u201cIt\u2019s important to stress that for the next stage, we must have a third party in place before the CPO occurs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
“If anyone is interested, please come forward and make yourself known.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca Barrett, regional director for Historic England said: \u201cWe know through experience that tackling historic buildings at risk takes partnership, imagination and perseverance.<\/p>\n
“We have all of those in Swindon, with the right people around the table, all committed to finding a long term solution for this remarkable building.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will work with the council over the coming months to work up a robust plan to help bring the Mechanics\u2019 Institute back to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mechanics\u2019 Institute \u2013 a hugely important building in Swindon\u2019s heritage \u2013 could soon be back in public hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25976,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25974\/revisions\/25976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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The Mechanics\u2019 Institute \u2013 a hugely important building in Swindon\u2019s heritage \u2013 could soon be back in public hands.<\/h3>\n