'Deserted' town centre feels unsafe at night

The Brunel Centre in Swindon opened in the late 1970s but now has a number of empty units

Swindon town centre feels unsafe at night "because it is deserted", a councillor has claimed.

The comments came at a meeting of the Better Swindon Committee where council leader Jim Robbins laid out plans for the future of the area.

A council report outlined its Heart of Swindon plan which aimed to create and develop initiatives such as a "knowledge centre" and would create many more homes in the town centre.

Councillor Marina Strinkovsky added more businesses would help make the centre feel safer, with another councillor Stanka Adamcova, adding safety issues there were "in the feedback all the time".

A number of shops have closed in Swindon town centre in recent years

A number of high-profile stores have closed in Swindon town centre in recent years.

This has left a number of empty shop units in the area.

Ms Adamcova added: "Unless people feel safe there, they won't be coming into the town centre."

The cabinet member for planning and placemaking, Ms Strinkovsky, who represents Eastcott ward borders the town centre added: "I talk to people who walk through the town centre after dark at the time.

"And what comes out is that the main thing that makes the town centre feel unsafe is the emptiness of it.

'Increased vibrancy'

"It's not that the amount of recorded crime in the town centre is unacceptably high – it's that it feels unsafe because it's deserted, and if we have more people living there, and attract more businesses there to serve them, then it will be less deserted.

"It sounds like a simplistic answer, but thriving communities are safer communities because the people who live there want to take care of their community."

Council officers said they would be willing to work with Ms Adamcova, who raised the issue, on increasing safety in the vision.

Council leader Mr Robbins said: "People are positive about having more housing in the town centre and that greater density leads to increased vibrancy and buzz and 24-hour usage rather than just during the main retail hours."