Lydiard House and Park took a step closer to a secure future today as Swindon Borough Council announced its preferred bidder.
Lydiard Park Heritage Trust has today been put forward for Swindon Borough Council Cabinet approval and a decision by them is expected at next weeks meeting. (16th March)
The Council received three full-site bids, two from Community Trusts and one from a commercial operator, as well as two part-site bids and whilst the full site bids all met the necessary criteria, it was the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust that was seen as the preferred proposal.
This was in part due to the heritage expertise of the core team, which has always been seen as key criteria of any successful bid, as well as the record of bid trustees in accessing Heritage Lottery Funding. Public opinion has indicated that people would prefer as little major change as possible, which again was a point in favour of this bid.
Following a successful passage through Cabinet next week, it is thought that The Lydiard Park Heritage Trust would be in a position to take over the operation of the House and Park in early 2018, allowing time for staff transfers for both Council workers and those employed by Chartridge Limited who currently run the hotel on the site.
Chair Mike Bowden said “The Trustees continue to meet regularly to prepare for the next chapter for Lydiard House and Park. We are pleased to have convinced the bid assessment team as to the merits of our vision for Lydiard and we look forward to next week’s cabinet meeting when the formal decision is to be made”.
Swindon South MP Robert Buckland said “This is very encouraging news. SBC made a brave and correct decision to embark upon a competitive bid process for Lydiard and I am optimistic that the SBC cabinet will accept the recommendation put to them. I’m sure Lydiard being in the hands of a community based, not for profit Trust will meet with widespread local support”.
At todays meeting Councillor David Renard also wished to point out that both the Community Trust bids were very strong and hopefully going forward that members of the unsuccessful bits will still have a role to play to ensure that Lydiard House and Park remain at the heart of the local community.
