The Advertiser told last week how Paul Doherty, chief executive of Swindon Council, is resigning amid pressures from councillors. Today, IAN FANNON looks back at six years of grand speeches and failing services.

THE Mechanics Insti-tute stands as a symbol of Swindon's decline under the leadership of Swindon Borough Council.

The 148-year-old Grade II listed building, a relic of the town's railway heritage, is a visual, tangible illustration of what has become rotten about the town.

The council may not own it, but it has had every opportunity to step in, instead of sticking its civic head in the sand.

When Paul Doherty took charge of the then Thamesdown Borough Council in 1996, he proclaimed how he would try to mastermind an exciting future for what he called a "city in all but name".

The council became a unitary authority the following year, taking over the huge responsibility of running the education and social services previously marshalled by Wiltshire County Council.

One of the first things on its agenda was the town's campaign for city status. The bid failed, was re-launched, and failed again, but nobody seemed too downhearted.

The council was concentrating on the future, appointing consultants at a cost of nearly £100,000 to draw up the town's 30-year vision, which painted a bright picture of the town as a "vibrant, European city" to rival any in Britain by 2030.

At several points over the last six years, plans have been proudly announced for a concert hall, a new central library, a rejuvenated town centre and a more lively Old Town area.

But as the council looked to the stars, it failed to notice how its existing treasures and the day-to-day services were crumbling under its feet. If it did notice, it did not act quickly enough to prevent it.

Because while Mr Doherty has been the chief officer in charge, the council's stated priorities of education and social services have been allowed to fall into disrepair. They have both been slated in the last 12 months by external inspectors, with the leadership of senior executives and councillors held up as serious weaknesses on both occasions.

In the meantime, private firm WS Atkins was handed control of the benefits and revenues service in 1999 a move that has led to nearly three years of giant backlogs of unprocessed benefits claims and uncollected tax debts.

These services are the bread and butter jobs the public expects to be delivered, but they have become among the worst in the country.

If the council's attention was focussed elsewhere, the town's landmark buildings were not benefiting.

Under Mr Doherty's leadership, the town has witnessed the near-terminal decline of the Mechanics to the point where its rescue appears to depend on a BBC television programme. It has seen Old Town's Locarno building and Old Town Hall remain boarded up and empty and it has witnessed the acrimonious closures of Oakfield and Gilbert's Hill schools.

The council bravely launched a new museum, Steam, which has won numerous awards, but has struggled to attract enough visitors. Each year since its opening in 2000, it has had to be bailed out with hundreds of thousands of pounds of council cash, while its predecessor, a landmark listed building in Faringdon Road, has stood empty and neglected for nearly three years. No future has yet been found for the former church and lodging house, but it is likely to be turned into flats, mimicking the controversial conversion of the Victorian buildings at Gilbert's Hill School, which began this month.

The redevelopment of Old Town, to the council's credit, is now finally underway, with apartments and new shops being constructed. But there are still numerous empty units and a feeling among retailers that Old Town is still considered the poorer relation.

In the town centre, if anyone feels isolated, it's the residents of the David Murray John Tower. Named after one of the town's visionaries, the tower looms high above Swindon as one of its most recognisable landmarks. But inside, the residents feel forgotten, as the building has been neglected to the point where the windows were not cleaned for four years.

The list could easily go on, but the fact is, Swindon people have become disillusioned by this council. What has happened to the grand visions, the proud announcements, the prestige projects?

The 30-year vision is no nearer to realisation than it was when it was launched two years ago, the central library, condemned by consultants three years ago, is still a ramshackle temporary hut, and the concert hall what concert hall?

The burden of failure cannot rest only on the shoulders of Paul Doherty senior councillors must share the blame but in a corporate organisation, the man at the top bears ultimate responsibility.