Scores of people turned out for a conference which focussed on the future of Swindon town centre.

The New Mechanics' Institution Preservation Trust held an all-day conference discussing the shape of Swindon to come.

The conference was held at Swindon College in Regents Circus on Saturday.

Speakers included Wendy Shillum, of Shillum and Smith, the consultancy which has just revealed the plans for the town centre, and Judith Jones, a freelance journalist, who recently wrote a damning piece on Swindon for the New Statesman.

People who attended the conference were able to view the plans for the town and were also able to find out more about the Mechanics' itself, and what the future could hold for it.

The plans for Swindon town centre include a state-of-the-art ultra-light tram system which would join Old Town, New Town, and the railway village together.

There are also plans for a new central library, a university campus and a new Swindon College campus, and an art gallery. A revamped town centre and Old Town area are also on the cards, with public squares, improved shopping areas, and more town centre residential developments.

The plans were drawn up by Shillum and Smith after a year long consultation with the people of Swindon.

One of the things the trust addressed was how the Mechanics' would fit into these plans.

The Victorian building, which was built for employees of the railway works, has been derelict since the mid 1980s. The trust wants it to be used as a community centre.

Ms Jones, who lives in Malmes-bury, wrote a piece for the New Statesman, in which she described a visit to Swindon.

In the article she described her visit around the town as leaving her without the will to live.

She was on hand to answer questions from members of the public who either disagreed or agreed with her view of the town.

Visitors to the all day conference got a chance to study photographs and slides showing the development of the town in the last century.