A new institution of higher education could be coming to use the of Great Western Railway  Carriage Works in the centre of town.

At least, that’s the hope, and plan, of Swindon Borough Council.

The local authority owns the building which runs alongside London Street from the Sheppard Street car park to Emlyn Square.

And its work to refurbish the listed Victorian building has already attracted two University institutions; The Royal Agricultural University’s Heritage Cultural Institute, and the cutting-edge Innovation Centre for Applied Sustainable Technologies that is a joint venture between the Universities of Bath and Oxford.

Now the council would like to attract more.

It has applied to its own planning department  to be allowed   to change the planning use of four units at the furthest western and northern corner of the building  to “flexible use  for higher education facilities, offices or research and development.”

The submitted proposals show the four refurbished units which would be made available as one or two spaces depending on the demand would be accessed from the Bristol  Street car park.

A report commissioned by the council from property consultancy Hartnell Taylor Cook says there would be a demand from either universities and colleges, or businesses, wanting to use the space.

It says: “A particular feature of the scheme is that the two largest occupiers are from the knowledge economy and this opens up the possibility of attracting further occupiers to the town looking to co-locate.”

Even if the council cannot find a university to come, it seems likely that it will find a user for the space as there is a waiting list: “The bulk of demand has come from smaller companies looking to occupy aspirational space that supports their business growth. This demand appears to be sustainable as there is currently a waiting list of smaller occupiers looking to take space in the scheme.”

The application shows the intent is to use mezzanine floors to create two storeys in the space, using the original building’s high roofs to good effect, similar to the way previous units, including the Workshed business start-up facility, have been transformed.

It says: “The design approach for the next phase seeks to follow much of the approach taken for the initial regeneration phases however also responds specifically to the slightly different character of the units in question where opportunities to open up a larger, more open space is possible and reinstates the historic character of the building.

No decision is expected on the plan until late August. Comments on the scheme can be made on the borough council website by July 18 using reference S/24/0721.