The last month has been somewhat of a tumultuous time for the Swindon property market which started with the developer of the centrepiece of the town centre redevelopment, Regent Place, collapse into administration. Although this had been something which many people had thought to be possible nonetheless the future of the 300,000 sq ft development now hangs in the balance. The administrators of Modus Ventures are actively trying to find a buyer to continue the scheme but the overall impact on the town cannot be underestimated. Irrespective of the existing scheme continuing or a reconfigured scheme going ahead, the perceived blight on a large tranche of town centre properties is only perpetuating a market inertia and causing a stark visual decline in many parts of the town. The New Swindon Company are doing their best to overcome these obstacles but there remain many hurdles to be cleared before the rejuvenated vision of Swindon Town Centre becomes a reality.

More positive news is that Ashfield are due to commence demolition of the former Swindon College site having secured Morrisons as the anchor tenant. The New Swindon Company are actively pressing ahead with other key areas such as The Promenade, which will form the cultural hub of Swindon Town Centre. The Promenade links the Ashfield site to the area of open land opposite the new Jury's Inn hotel. The vision for this part of the redeveloped town centre is hoped to include a new auditorium and public gardens and there is a desire to entice the University of the West of England into the development along with new civic office buildings. It has also been identified that running up to 2026 there will be a need for 120,000 sq m of new office accommodation in the town centre which this will contribute towards. This month has also seen the beginning of the public consultation for the Eastern Development Area which is an extension to the existing settlement to accommodate 12,000 new homes in an area the size of Chippenham. There is an allocation of 35 hectares of employment land within the EDA and it is projected that this will create 5,000 new jobs within these sites. Although there remains some unanswered questions regarding the infrastructure within the EDA, which has sparked some local opposition, it is anticipated that this will be approved as part of the RSS.

Against this backdrop of events we have seen enquiry levels be consistent and of good quality with motivated tenants and deals being concluded swiftly and asking rents being achieved. In the last month we have been able to successfully complete deals on good quality office accommodation, retail outlets and we have also successfully completed the letting of a nightclub within a landmark building situated in the Old Town area of Swindon.

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