75870-29BOSSES at two of Swindon's leading organisations say they are encouraged by the deputy prime minister's optimism for the re-birth of the town centre.

Yesterday, the Evening Advertiser reported how the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott used his five-year plan for the regeneration of local communities to hail proposals by the New Swindon Company to boost the population of the town centre.

Under the re-generation body's plans, new homes would be built alongside 100,000 square metres of leisure and retail space, effectively doubling the number of stores.

He said: "Urban regeneration companies operating in Camborne, Poole, Redruth, Swindon and Gloucester will help deliver more than 8,000 additional homes in regenerated town centres."

Dennis Grant, chairman of the Swindon Chamber of Commerce said: "Clearly Mr Prescott is being highly optimistic. It is obviously better to have more new housing in the town centre rather than developing new land on the outside of the town so people don't have to commute into town.

"By having more people in the town, it ensures that the town centre does not become a ghost town at night. These 10,000 new jobs will not be created overnight. We are talking about a period of five or more years."

Rosemary Wells, of the New Swindon Company said Mr Prescott's support for the project was good news.

She said: "This is very encouraging. Use of brown field sites in the town centre is a priority to bring life back into the town.

"Our plans see something like 3,000 houses in the town centre, including around 1,000 north of the railway line in North Star village as well as a doubling of retail space and increased office space."

According to Mr Prescott, such schemes, like the one proposed by the New Swindon Company, are key to housing the 500,000 extra people who are expected to live in the southwest by 2016.

Mr Prescott's five-year plan also calls for a focus on environment, transport, the improvement of parks, local services, poverty and anti-social behaviour.

He said: "We want to offer new opportunities for neighbourhoods everywhere.

"We want people to help shape the local public services they receive and we want them to become more involved in the democratic life of their community."

Anthony Osborne