Surrounded by the high end vehicular gems of a car showroom and with the dulcet sounds of a musical duo flitting through the gaps in the conversational hubbub of the great and good of the local business community, this could almost be just another car launch. But what was being rolled out to the gathered masses was actually something less tangible and much more interesting.
Switch On to Swindon had invited people to the Audi showroom in Delta Business Park so that they could nail their colours to the mast of a new business incentive designed to “unite businesses, organisations and individuals across the area in a powerful network to change perceptions of the place and raise its profile.” A worthy aim if ever there was one.
Jo Miller, who had driven a similar incentive in Doncaster, began the presentation laying out the common factors between the two “not quite a city” towns and explaining how the scheme was driven from the bottom up rather than guided by the usual powers that be. Nicky Alberry and Gavin Calthrop then enthused about how proud they are of the town and what the goals where of the project, in very broad terms.
And how is it going to achieve this? Well, unless I missed something (there was free wine) that part of the plan is yet to be filled in. However, you can’t fault the idea and with another gathering planned for April, I’m sure there will be more meat on the bone by then.
For all it’s faults Swindon is known to offer a wealth of business opportunity, though I feel that those opportunities go hand in hand with more human factors and as such many cultural, social, not to mention visual factors should be addressed alongside any such scheme. Relocating or expanding businesses locally is of little use if the image and reputation of the town stops people wanting to move here to work in those new opportunities. So it will be interesting to see how this is addressed.
However, all will be revealed next time around and my inherent cynicism aside, I’m intrigued to see where this project can take us. A much-needed drive to change the way the town is seen or just another collection of sound bites and board-room visions by the suited elite? We will see.
