FORWARD Swindon is set to be given a new lease of life next week, despite concerns about its ability to deliver on the regeneration of the town centre.

The company is wholly owned and funded by Swindon Borough Council but it operates at arm’s length, with a mandate to drive forward the delivery of key projects as part of the town centre masterplan.

It cost the council £1.179m to run in 2016/17 and £1.1m in 2017/18.

But critics argue that regeneration should be dealt with in-house at a reduced cost to the council purse and there have been consistent calls for it to be disbanded due to a lack of progress on key projects.

In October, an independent consultant was brought in to assess its role. It was widely believed that the commissioning of the report was a precursor to a decision to bring Forward Swindon back into the council.

The CEO tendered her resignation at about the time the report was put out to tender, a move that was interpreted by some as a sign that the writing was on the wall for the company.

But at next week’s meeting of the cabinet, councillors will instead be asked to approve its continuing role as an external entity, albeit with reform of the board to allow for greater council input.

The report, put together by consultants V4 Services, laid bare the level of dissatisfaction with Forward Swindon’s record and approach among some stakeholders.

A majority were reported to have “expressed concern about the pace of delivery”, with Forward Swindon accused of offering “jam tomorrow” in place of results.

Some stakeholders told the consultants they wanted Forward Swindon to “get out of the way” and allow the private sector to invest and develop at a faster pace.

The consultants looked for evidence that similar models were working well in other towns but they found no such evidence.

A study of 14 organisations identified in 2004 showed that all had either ceased trading, had been absorbed by councils or no longer had an identifiable role in development.

Issues were also raised around how decisions on major council investments are being made.

The consultants found that the council needed to start acting as “a robust investor to secure its funding, ensure the risks are minimised and rewards are being managed fully”.

While councils can borrow money at favourable rates compared to individuals and the private sector, timely returns on those investments are still expected.

Some key Forward Swindon projects have been funded without such assurances.

There was some positive feedback outlined in the consultants’ report. A number of stakeholders felt that a recent staff restructure at Forward Swindon had been effective and that encouraging movement was being seen on the ground on key projects.

Nevertheless, news of the council’s proposal to keep Forward Swindon in place has been met by surprise and disappointment both privately and publicly.

In his column in the Adver today North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson slams what he sees as a failure to remove obstacles from the path of developers who want to make a difference to the beleaguered town centre. You can read Justin's comments in full here.