Car park could be converted into TV and movie set

An underused car park could be offered as a film set to global companies in a bid to boost the economy of a town centre.

Swindon Borough Council, which owns the Brunel West Car park, has applied to its own planning department to change the use of part of the building.

It wants floors five and six of the multi-storey, which is attached to the Brunel Shopping Centre with access from Farnsby Street, to be used for "leisure, recreation cultural and community uses" and specifically as a film location.

The council aims to use the under-utilised car park to bring in more income to the town centre, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Swindon Borough Council's application said: "The purpose of the proposed development is to maximise the use of the top floors of the car park because they are currently not within a full active use.

"The new use will allow an existing business to grow by utilising the floorspace for a productive use to benefit the local economy and will contribute towards the regeneration of Swindon's central area."

It adds that the car park could "not only be used by local filmmakers and students to make films" but "also be marketed to production companies worldwide."

The only work needed for the proposal, council documents state, will be to gate off the fifth and sixth floor.

Elsewhere, a plan has been submitted to turn part of the Whalebridge Car Park, not far from Brunel West, into a roller skating rink.

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