Main walking route from Swindon Station to Steam! museum close

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Main walking route from Swindon Station (and town centre) to Steam! museum closed

From The Swindon Advertiser

THE underpass linking Swindon town centre to the outlet village has been closed.

The Bristol Street tunnel is owned by Churchward PLC, which was served with a winding up order on 13 June. But they were awaiting further details from PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers) who have been appointed as special managers to assist in the dealings with the company.

The sudden closure has left pedestrians having to find an alternative route that doesn’t involve using the tunnel, which has added an increased time to people’s journeys.Users of the underpass has been in contact with the Adver to express their concerns.

Roshni Kerai explained: This seems such a shame, as it's an important transport link for many people to the train station and town centre.”

Des Morgan, of Haydon Wick, said: “It’s going to destroy that route between the town centre and the outlet.”

Adam Philips said: “This underpass is used by so many people a day and now it has been shut without any notice, disrupting everyone’s commute. They need to reopen it as soon as possible.”

The Adver understands that Swindon Borough Council are trying to come to an agreement with the owners to reopen it for public use.

[stuving]

Churchward PLC was part of Carillion, and a winding up order was granted to the Official Receiver in June. So what has happened now? All it seems to have done was own and manage property, so I guess this property has been sold. But to whom?

[ellendune]

Churchward PLC was part of Carillion, and a winding up order was granted to the Official Receiver in June. So what has happened now? All it seems to have done was own and manage property, so I guess this property has been sold. But to whom?

Or will be sold

[stuving]

Churchward PLC was part of Carillion, and a winding up order was granted to the Official Receiver in June. So what has happened now? All it seems to have done was own and manage property, so I guess this property has been sold. But to whom?

Or will be sold

I guess they might want prove to buyers there is no established right of way?

[CMRail]

Ah this is frustrating as I don’t really know my way around Swindon out of the main centre. Is this the underpass where there is a little security shed at the end?

[grahame]

Ah this is frustrating as I don’t really know my way around Swindon out of the main centre. Is this the underpass where there is a little security shed at the end?

Yes. Map attached; underpass highlighted in red

[bobm]

With the underpass closed it almost makes public transport the practical alternative to get to the outlet centre and museum.  However the road outside the railway station is a one way street heading the wrong way so you need to know to walk to the bus station/Fleming Way or Catherine Street by the railway village to get one going the right way.

[grahame]

With the underpass closed it almost makes public transport the practical alternative to get to the outlet centre and museum.  However the road outside the railway station is a one way street heading the wrong way so you need to know to walk to the bus station/Fleming Way or Catherine Street by the railway village to get one going the right way.

What's the alternative walking route ... along the south side of the railway (the road is one way for vehicles, but 2 way for pedestrians, right?) all the way as it takes the name Sheppard Street, Bristol Street and Church Place then walk under the Rodbourne Road (B 4289) bridge to the far side - from the station - of the Outlet Centre.   Through the Outlet Centre to get to Steam, National Trust, Archives, new housing etc that were formerly accessed via the tunnel?

If you need access to the area to the east of the Outlet Centre when the centre is closed ... looks like an even longer walk around ... whilst you could exit the station to North Star, or get there via the old canal bridge under the railway, I don't know of any path under the Swindon to Kemble railway ...

[bobm]

The walk along Rodbourne Road under the bridges is not particularly welcoming.  The footway under the bridges is narrow and dark and not particularly easy if you have a pram/pushchair.

I am not sure how easy it is to exit the station to the north.  Signs suggest you have to work or have an invitation to the Research Councils in Polaris House to get out that way.

[grahame]

Very interesting artwork in the tunnel ... to help people identify the tunnel ... it's the place this could be seen:

The walk along Rodbourne Road under the bridges is not particularly welcoming.  The footway under the bridges is narrow and dark and not particularly easy if you have a pram/pushchair.

I am not sure how easy it is to exit the station to the north.  Signs suggest you have to work or have an invitation to the Research Councils in Polaris House to get out that way.

I have never exited on the north side, but understand that the signage is rather more restrictive that reality.

The "new" bridge - I don't have a great number of pictures - looks like this

[Reginald25]

The tunnel has been open for many years. It has probably become an established right of way, so would have expected notice before closure.

However if the North exit does provide a reasonable route to the Outlet Centre and Steam, the can't someone get agreement with the research councils for public use as an interim?

[bobm]

The tunnel was closed every night so that may have prevented it becoming a right of way.

[ellendune]

However if the North exit does provide a reasonable route to the Outlet Centre and Steam, the can't someone get agreement with the research councils for public use as an interim?

Both the station/research councils bridge and another underpass (old North Wilts Canal - which is now  cycle path) are on the other side of the Gloucester line and you have to go all the way to Bruce Street Bridges to cross.  So neither gives a good walking route to STEAM or the Outlet Village. 

The best option would be for Outlet village to buy the underpass from the receivers of Churchward Ltd.   

[stuving]

Presumably this is all tied up with the ownership and development history of the whole "Churchward" area. I found this in a lawyer's CV:

Tarmac/Carillion – estates management of Heron Quays, London; development and letting of the Churchward site in Swindon, including the letting of the Railway Heritage Museum; the sale of land at Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff for housing and development of a hotel

and also that Churchward House (behind Steam!) was bought by its current owners in 2006.

Presumably the tunnel was part of the railway land sold off for development, and some of that land may still be owned by Churchward, even if leased to others. Do any of the Swidonites (or Swindonists) here remember what happened?

This report from July shows that the main occupiers were unaware of any ground landlord, whether Churchward or another. However, that may just mean that such matters were left to "our lawyers" or "legal at head office" who never tell staff likely to talk to the Adver anything.

I'm beginning to suspect that some oversmart liquidator has spotted that the tunnel owned separately could be worth a lot, because it could hold the occupiers to a large ransom for access. After all, their job is to sell off the bits for as much as they can get.

[grahame]

I'm beginning to suspect that some oversmart liquidator has spotted that the tunnel owned separately could be worth a lot, because it could hold the occupiers to a large ransom for access. After all, their job is to sell off the bits for as much as they can get.

(S)he may indeed be smart.  From one of our regular passengers ...

Luckily, I don’t have to use the tunnel but lots of work colleagues have been affected by it adding 15 mins to their journey times on foot. I was also told the pavement going under the bridges on Rodbourne Road was really clogged with people this morning. Hope it’s resolved soon.