Boffins from the Universities of Bath and Oxford could soon be developing critical technologies for the 21st century in the same buildings where the symbols of the industrial 19th century were built.

A full formal planning application has been lodged with Swindon Borough Council to transform empty buildings in the old Great Western Railway Carriage Works in London Street into a new unit for forward thinking in dealing with plastic waste and recycling.

Although the application has been put in by the borough council itself, as the owner of the building, if plans are approved it will be used by the University of Bath's Innovation Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies (iCAST).

The university, which is collaborating with Oxford, on the project said: “Our ambition is to become a research and development and collaboration hub for companies working on clean growth technologies – a place where they can easily partner with academic strength to enable scale-up and commercial delivery, generate economic impact, build supply chains, create jobs and drive green growth in the UK and overseas.

“The Carriage Works will be the home of our Creative Hub workshops where our partners can work together on today’s industrial innovation.”

If the plans are approved scientists will be working on ways to make plastics truly re-useable in the two storeys of unit seven, two along from the pedestrian tunnel and the lower floors of the next door units five and three, which were more lately used as cycle sheds.

A mezzanine floor will be added in the upper storey of unit seven to make use of the high ceilings.

This will allow office spaces on the existing first floor, and more working space such as meeting rooms and long tables for collaborative working on the mezzanine.

In the lower ground floor, supporting pillars will be retained and the unit’s reception area and more meeting rooms will be installed.

The industrial and Victorian nature of the building will be retained, even emphasised with supporting pillars and roof trusses visible and made a feature.
Some partial internal walls are earmarked for demolition as part of the scheme.

This is the third phase of the borough council’s regeneration of the industrial buildings stretching the length of London Street.

The first was the successful conversion of two units, five and three, into the Work Shed, rentable offices for start-ups, particularly digital and web businesses.

The Royal Agricultural University is soon to move its Cultural Heritage Institute into Unit 11, next to the tunnel, with classes for post-graduate students due to start this autumn.