WORK was due to start today on the controversial project to turn the former Gilbert's Hill School build-ing into a complex of 10 flats.

Stanton Fitzwarren-based developer, Bower Mapson, is behind the 12-month refurbishment pro-gramme in Dixon Street.

It is planning to create a mix of flats at both ends of the affordability scale, each with its own individual character and some with stunning views across the town.

The 120 year-old building has been boarded up since the school closed in July 2000.

Swindon Council sold it to the developer last year and planners approved the scheme in March.

A number of community groups had hoped to use the building and maintain its public use.

An Evening Advertiser telephone poll showed that our readers' most favoured use was to create a base for the Greenspace Project which would have trans-formed the building into a centre of excellence for sustainable living.

But the council opted instead for the higher bid by Bower Mapson.

The company's designer behind the scheme, Peter Mapson, today insisted that the refurbishment would give the building new life, while maintaining its strik-ing appearance.

He said: "I'd be disap-pointed if people weren't pleased with the final product.

"We intend to keep the presence and appearance of the building, but regener-ate it so that it can live on a lot longer than it would as a decaying public build-ing."

He said all the apart-ments will be different some small and affordable, some large and expensive.

Access to the site will be from the rear of the build-ing in Dowling Street in order to minimise disrup-tion to residents in Dixon Street.

And the firm will be paying real attention to detail, rebuilding the clock tower carefully and bringing in a specialist brick supplier to match the bricks exactly.

Mr Mapson said: "It's going to be a pretty long project because we want to get all the details right.

"When you take on something like this, you can either do it in a cos-metic way, or you can do it properly and we want to do the latter.

"We have no set budget for the works because we don't know how things are going to work out.

"But we will not be stint-ing on cost, because we want to be able to look back at what we've done with pride."