No-one will pay to repair 'dangerous' shopping area

A row has broken out over the maintenance of a deteriorating shopping area which a councillor says is "dangerous" and resembles a "rubbish tip".

Swindon's Neighbourhood Centre is said to be in need of more than £100,000 worth of repairs, having last had maintenance work in 2001.

The site, which is home to a pre-school, a fish and chip shop and a hairdresser among other businesses, is suffering with broken cobbles, crumbling steps under a pagoda and falling roof tiles.

Swindon Borough Council said it has written to the site owner, the Crown Estate, a property business owned by the monarch but run independently. However, the landowner said it cannot carry out maintenance work for legal reasons.

St Andrews Parish Council's Sue MacDonald showed the BBC a portion of the Neighbourhood Centre on Highdown Way that she said "lends itself to being used as a rubbish bin".

In the car park, wonky iron works and uneven cobbles have tripped up the partially sighted and those with mobility issues, she said.

A pagoda, built as a fun landmark, is now more of a hazard.

"The tiles are beginning to come off [the pagoda roof]," said Ms MacDonald. "The steps underneath are in very dangerous condition."

Swindon Borough Council's Jake Chandler said he had written to the Crown Estate four times to ask it to fix the issues.

"In that time we've never had a representative from the Crown [Estate] actually agree to come to look at these issues," he said.

The Crown Estate is a unique landowner that generates revenue for the Treasury.

It is not the King's private property – he cannot sell its assets or keep any profits for himself.

The Crown Estate had assets worth £15bn in 2023-24, owning vast amounts of land in Britain.

It became the owner of the Neighbourhood Centre in 2011 by default due to a legal principle known as escheat, which came into force when the previous owner went under.

The Crown Estate said that when a property is escheated, it cannot take any action that might be construed as management, possession, or ownership because it may incur liabilities.

It told the BBC it would welcome discussion for Swindon Borough Council to become the owner of the site.

However, neither the borough council nor the parish council say they have the money to fix it.

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