What a pleasure it was to meet Karen Phimister, Project Officer of Swindon's Heritage Action Zone recently and hear about the Railway Village, and be shown round and discuss the possibilities to improve it. As we stood on the pavement outside 1-3 Faringdon Road and looked across the road, there was one obvious improvement to make to the overgrown garden and a lack of signage. Where had we arrived? It was obviously a rather special village comprising similar stone built houses near the railway line. So what is the Heritage Action Zone and what is the significance of having one? The HAZ as I'll call it, includes the area round the Railway Village and extends to GWR Park in one direction and almost down to the station in the other direction. There is some excellent information online from Historic England, including the launch date which was 6 June 2019, and the 8 ambitious and exciting projects they will be concentrating on.
This project is one of twenty around the country aimed at 'breathing new life into old places'. There's a good summary of the on the Swindon Borough Council website:
' The Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) initiative is offered by Historic England to revitalise under used historic areas. This is in order to bring about wider economic and social growth. Eighteen Heritage Action Zones have been launched since 2016 and this year, Swindon became the second town in the South West to achieve HAZ status.
The Swindon HAZ will focus on the area around Swindon’s historic railway village. An exciting plan has been prepared to deliver enhancements to key historic buildings such as the Health Hydro, the Cricketers, the Carriage Works, the Mechanics’ Institute and GWR Park. Footpaths, signage and public spaces will also be improved in order to connect the area to the wider town centre. Promotional events, exhibitions, publications and tours will be organised. This is to raise awareness of Swindon’s history with residents and visitors and to draw people into the area.
The Swindon HAZ was officially launched on Thursday, 6 June 2019 and will last for five years. Throughout this period, the council and its partners will be able to access expertise and funding from Historic England to help deliver the initiative. A project officer has been appointed to oversee all of the projects.
There will be many opportunities for people to get involved in the Swindon HAZ. Further information will be posted as the projects get going.'
Having heard about the project, Karen walked with us through the area, including GWR Park, it was a beautiful day and as you can see from the photos, the area looked fabulous:
Above one of the roads in the railway village , with a brick planter just obvious, and below one of the pubs built in the village, The Glue Pot, a great pub with a friendly welcome.
Here's a view of the Mechanics Institute, long boarded up with a forest of buddleia growing out of it.
A view of the road beside the Mechanics.
The backsies look delightfully neat and tidy
We went to the Baker's Cafe hoping for afternoon tea, we were too late, but did use the facilities where we saw this lovely toilet roll holder.
Having had a great walk round the HAZ, I thought i'd get a photo of the wonderfully iconic David murray John Tower, so fabulously celebrated by Angela Atkinson in her Born Again Swindon blog
Have a look at it for lots of fascinating information on the DMJ tower.
And let's look forward to the improvements we'll see in the HAZ over the next 5 years.
This project is one of twenty around the country aimed at 'breathing new life into old places'. There's a good summary of the on the Swindon Borough Council website:
' The Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) initiative is offered by Historic England to revitalise under used historic areas. This is in order to bring about wider economic and social growth. Eighteen Heritage Action Zones have been launched since 2016 and this year, Swindon became the second town in the South West to achieve HAZ status.
The Swindon HAZ will focus on the area around Swindon’s historic railway village. An exciting plan has been prepared to deliver enhancements to key historic buildings such as the Health Hydro, the Cricketers, the Carriage Works, the Mechanics’ Institute and GWR Park. Footpaths, signage and public spaces will also be improved in order to connect the area to the wider town centre. Promotional events, exhibitions, publications and tours will be organised. This is to raise awareness of Swindon’s history with residents and visitors and to draw people into the area.
The Swindon HAZ was officially launched on Thursday, 6 June 2019 and will last for five years. Throughout this period, the council and its partners will be able to access expertise and funding from Historic England to help deliver the initiative. A project officer has been appointed to oversee all of the projects.
There will be many opportunities for people to get involved in the Swindon HAZ. Further information will be posted as the projects get going.'
Having heard about the project, Karen walked with us through the area, including GWR Park, it was a beautiful day and as you can see from the photos, the area looked fabulous:
And let's look forward to the improvements we'll see in the HAZ over the next 5 years.
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