Geograph - photograph every grid square

Written by Brian Robert Marshall

There has been a college of some sort on, or more correctly, near the site since 1895 when Swindon Technical College was built. It is a fine example of late Victorian municipal architecture. In the 1960s the College was greatly expanded with the opening of a large, multi-floor building to the west of the Victorian original, which remained in use. The architecture and general construction of the new building was typical of its era and not, perhaps, particularly visually stunning. However, it served its purpose and no doubt many of its alumni have moved on to great things aided by the education and training received there. By the turn of the new millennium it was clear that the site had had its day and a new college on North Star Avenue was opened later in the first decade and in 2006 the Regent Circus was vacated. By 2007 the site had been sold to developers and all looked set for a radical change to the location Link (video).However, soon after the economic climate around the world changed for the worse sparked by the banking crisis of 2008 and Swindon was not immune to its effects. As a result the site lay derelict and deteriorating for the next four years. In 2011 however, planning permission was granted for a complete redevelopment of the site for commercial uses mostly comprising retail and leisure. Importantly, the old Victorian college is to be saved and converted into offices. In 2012 work started in earnest with the demolition over several weeks of the 1960s college, and in the spring of 2013, construction of the new development began. By November construction was well underway and completion is expected by summer 2014 Link