'Inventive thinking' is needed to help revive Swindon's Regent Circus again following the closure of Cineworld there, a local businessman has said. 

Speaking to the BBC, Kris Talikowski, chairman of the Old Town Business Association, has addressed the growing number of empty units that are now at the town centre's retail and entertainment destination. 

With Cineworld closing its cinema there, and the former Morrisons, Dough and Co, Funky Grilla and Lamaya all still sitting empty, only Nandos, the pop-up Swindon and Wiltshire Pride shop and Boom Battle Bar remain. 

Read More: Cinema in Swindon empty after closing for good

Kris added that he would like to see the Morrisons building become a music venue. 

“Look at places like Wapping Wharf in Bristol," he said.

"It's a micro area made out of shipping containers for food and beverage and retail - and a huge amount of other economic activity popped up around that.

“That’s the kind of inventive thinking we need in Swindon. There is appetite for it. It’s just engaging the right people to make it happen.”

Both Swindon Borough Council and South Swindon MP Heidi Alexander have turned their attention towards Swindon's town centre, with both saying that members of the public consider reviving the area one of the town's most pressing issues.

Read More: Residents react to Cineworld Swindon closure

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