ANOTHER £4.9m is set to be spent on overhauling the historic Carriage Works, but it will be 16 years before the council makes its money back.

The revelation comes just days after the release of a report warning that the council should strengthen the way it approves and monitors major investments.

Consultants brought in to review the regeneration of the town centre found there was a risk that key projects were being “overly driven by a preferred vision and then subject to optimistic assumptions to demonstrate viability”.

They recommended that the council adopt a much firmer relationship with Forward Swindon, the company tasked with delivering on the vision set out in the town centre masterplan.

The Carriage Works is one of the flagship components of that vision and a central pillar of Forward Swindon’s delivery plan.

Last year, the cabinet agreed to spend £1m to turn one unit at the London Road site into an open-plan business incubation centre targeted at small start-ups and tech firms. The work is nearing completion but so far only one tenant has been announced.

Now the cabinet has approved a further £4.9m to be spent on refurbishing four more units, but eyebrows have been raised about the lengthy timescale for any return on this significant investment.

As part of the plans, the business incubation centre will expand to include an adjacent unit at a cost of almost £1.4m. That investment will take 14 years to pay back.

High-level discussions are underway with a university that is looking to establish a postgraduate centre at the site, with a focus on heritage and culture.

The refurbishment of that section of the building will cost £1.2m and will not pay back in full for 16 years, partly due to the university being offered below-market rents to begin with.

A further investment of £2.4m has also been agreed to allow for the redevelopment of two other units. That money will take 15 years to pay back, but only if the units are occupied in good time.

While Forward Swindon is confident there will be sufficient demand, no specific prospective tenants have been identified.

But the Adver understands those assurances have done little to satisfy the firm’s critics, with the decision to approve what is now a total investment of £5.9m not proving universally popular within the council.

The internal board that scrutinises such investments is believed to have raised concerns around the timeliness of the returns they are likely to see, but those concerns were not enough to prompt a pause in the process.

Garry Perkins, the cabinet member for regeneration, has defended the council’s approach on investments.

“Any decision to invest goes through a rigorous process of examination by officers and members,” said Coun Perkins.

“The general principle is that an investment should bring a rate of return that would be acceptable in the private sector.

“In addition to this, or sometimes instead of this, the investment would contribute to the achievement of one of the council’s vision pledges.

“Also, while politicians are frequently accused of making short-term decisions and looking no further forward than the next election, this administration is ready to make the necessary decisions that will benefit the town for many years to come.

“The Carriage Works will attract inward investment by creating an attractive business centre at the heart of the town, complementing the Designer Outlet Village on the other side of the tracks.”