GAZETTE & HERALD: THE crumbling house from where Isambard Kingdom Brunel oversaw the building of Chippenham's western arches, should be restored and turned into a museum, claims North Wiltshire MP James Gray.

Orwell House dates back to the early 1800s, and from 1842 was the home of Rowland Brotherhood, Brunel's principal contractor for the Great Western Railway.

Brunel stayed at Orwell House frequently while overseeing the grand viaduct project and the grand dining room was often used for him to host parties for MPs and other public figures.

But while the building once boasted a croquet lawn and hosted visiting dignitaries, it is now surrounded by a shop, currently housing Dreams Beds Superstore - the perfectly-manicured garden and croquet lawns now covered by concrete.

A year ago, Orwell House attracted the interest of Fizz Bar owners David Poole, Les Weir and Pete Jones, but their plans to turn it into a night spot were shelved when the house was awarded a Grade II listing.

David Poole explained: "There was a great deal of work involved, but then two weeks into the process, the building was listed, which ended things really.

"The building is in a terrible state and the cost of renovating it while listed would have been horrendous.

"We are still very interested in the site though and are still talking to Dreams, but at the moment we are concentrating on our plans to extend the Fizz Bar."

But James Gray believes Orwell House should be a museum and has urged North Wiltshire District Council to turn it into a visitor attraction celebrating the designer's achievements.

"I have been reassured that there are no current planning applications on the house, but I believe it is crazy to have this beautiful Cotswold stone manor house hidden from view inside a dreadful modern building," he said.

"I believe the county council is in the final stages of negotiations in its plans to restore the arches and to fill in the subway and I think this would be the ideal time to have the house restored too.

"It really is a very historic site and I have told North Wiltshire District Council that I have no doubt we could get funding for its restoration from the Lottery or other grant funding, but someone from the council needs to take responsibility for the project."

Mr Gray continued: "Brunel is very important to Chippenham.

"The room where he drew the plans for the western arches is situated in the yard inside the railway station car park and this is currently being renovated along with the station.

"Let's get Orwell House done too and we could end up with a wonderful Brunel-inspired centre, paying tribute to a man who accomplished so much."

Plans are expected to be finalised next week to transform the crumbling railway arches and subway at the foot of New Road into a stunning gateway to Chippenham.

Wiltshire County Council, Network Rail and the district and town councils are expected to discuss plans to combine impending renovation work on the viaduct with the cleaning up and redevelopment of the land at its feet.

The vision includes filling in the outdated subway, installing new road crossings and revamping the area with seating, floodlighting and possibly even a statue of Brunel.

Developer HPH, which owns a number of buildings in the Chippenham area, including the recently-renovated Bewley House which faces the arches, has offered to donate £20,000 towards the redevelopment.

Development director Chris Wordsworth, said: "This area has been a concern for a while, it is unattractive and run down and really does not do justice to its World Heritage setting.

"The intention is to ensure that this major gateway into the town provides a much more welcoming route.

"A statue may be a possibility eventually and would perhaps become something that visitors would associate with the town."