Shopping complex built in 2014 to be demolished
BBCApproval has been given to largely demolish a failing retail and leisure complex that only opened in 2014.
Regent Circus, built on the former Swindon College site, was heralded as ""regenerating" the town centre on opening, but has since lost all of its tenants other than Nando's.
Swindon Borough Council approved developer MCR Property Group's plan to demolish all but the Nando's unit on Thursday, with work potentially beginning on a residential development later this month.
Council leader Jim Robbins said: "We'd love to see something come in its place, full of vibrancy, which is better for the town centre."
He added: "We're really hoping we can work positively with the new owners to share our Heart of Swindon vision."
Opening with a mix of shops, restaurants and a cinema, Regent Circus has seen big names such as Morrisons and Cineworld move out in recent years.
Robbins said the developers "seem to have bought into it", adding: "They understand our plans for more people in the town centre, a better mix of shops, of retail, and leisure and office space as well as residential."
Justin Britchford, manager of nearby MECA Swindon, said the current site was "a big white elephant" and said any increase in the number of people living in the town centre would benefit surrounding businesses.
Martin Brown, director of commercial property at MCR, said: "Regent Circus now presents an opportunity to rethink how this part of the town centre can work better for Swindon.
"The existing buildings no longer align with modern town-centre needs, and this initial phase allows the site to be carefully reset."
The company says it intends to build housing on the site and to work "closely with the council and local stakeholders to deliver long-term regeneration and a positive future for this important location".
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