THE former Railway Museum should be returned to its former role as a church.

That is the verdict of Evening Advertiser readers who took part in our telephone poll.

We asked readers to register their opinions on the various plans submitted for the currently vacant Railway Museum in Faringdon Road.

Some eighty per cent who called in backed the church option.

Built in 1849 the building started life as a lodging house for railway workers and was then a Wesleyan chapel until 1964 when it was converted into a museum.

It has remained empty since the museum closed in 1999 and since then there has been extensive speculation about its future.

In August, Swindon Council advertised the vacant building and asked for ideas about how it should be developed.

The council received seven different ideas: turn it into flats, use as a community exhibition space, craft centre, restaurant/ exhibition centre, offices, church or gymnastics school.

It also considered using it as a temporary home for Swindon's library, but that was dropped earlier this week when it was revealed that such a move could cost £2 million.

While most readers backed the church idea the next most popular scheme was the gymnastics school with 8.5 per cent of the votes.

Seven per cent said the Railway Museum should be put to some sort of community exhibition use and three per cent back turning it into flats.

Just over 1.5 per cent backed turning it into a restaurant.

Despite apparently high public backing for the building become a church again that is unlikely to happen.

When the council cabinet met on Wednesday night it ruled out a community use saying the building would be sold to the best commercial bidder.

Council leader Kevin Small (Lab, Western) said that the council could not afford the liability of keeping the building and needed the money from any possible sale.

He said that detailed commercial bids will now be sought and a full public consultation will be carried out before the winning bid is named.