After more than 8,000 people signed a petition stating that “We the undersigned oppose Swindon Borough Council's plans to hand over Lydiard House and Park to the commercial sector”, Labour brought a motion to full Council in January to this effect. Unfortunately, the motion was not supported by the Conservative administration.
After more than 8,000 people signed a petition stating that “We the undersigned oppose Swindon Borough Council's plans to hand over Lydiard House and Park to the commercial sector”, Labour brought a motion to full Council in January to this effect. Unfortunately, the motion was not supported by the Conservative administration.
While a three month delay to the transfer process has been granted in order to allow the Friends of Lydiard to form a Trust and submit a bid, the Council is actively considering bids from the commercial sector. The successful bidder would be given £850,000 “as a contribution to backlog maintenance needs”.
The Council is also considering the future of Coate Water Country Park, Stanton Park and Barbury Castle.
Lydiard House and Park were given to the people of Swindon in 1947 and Labour believes that the house and park are safest in public ownership. I don’t want to see Lydiard House and Park commercialised to generate dividends for a private company. I don’t want to see more areas fenced off for expensive visitor attractions. Among the things OId Town families love about Lydiard Park are the fresh air and the sense of freedom, and space for children to run around and play. We also need to think about what might happen to the park if the leaseholder were to become insolvent.