THE main shopping area of Swindon is recovering faster from lockdown than many others, according to the council leader.

David Renard, who holds responsibility for the borough's economic growth, told members of the authority’s growing the economy overview and scrutiny committee: “Footfall in the town centre is about 80 per cent of what it was before lockdown.

"That’s higher than many other towns and cities across the country – Birmingham, for example, is about 50 per cent.

“We are not where we want to be, but we are getting there quicker than many other places.”

Coun Renard said the council was working with partners on the economic recovery – bodies like the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Business West as well as firms across the town.

Labour councillor Mark Dempsey asked Coun Renard: “There has always been a lot of effort put into helping the economy by the council and its partners – but what tangible results can we expect to see in two years or five years?”

Coun Renard said: “There is a real difference now. The different organisations haven’t always have the same objectives – there was a real element of ploughing your own furrow.

“Now we are seeing much more integration in the direction we all want to go.

“The things we’d want to see are growth in the town centre and increased employment across the whole of the economy.

“But there is acceptance that retail will never return to where it was 30 years ago."

The council's director of economic growth Phillipa Venables said: “I’ve been speaking to retailers and a lot of them acknowledge this is a great opportunity to change and a lot of them realise they need to make a change and want to do that.”

Jenny Jeffries said Swindon needed to make more noise about itself but was optimistic. She said: “This has always been a town where a lot of money has been made.

"We need now to make it a place with lots of difference and exciting options for people to spend that money – historically people have gone elsewhere for their leisure.

“We need to make sure there are options here and go out and sell ourselves – but I’m sure we can do that.”

Chairman of the committee Kevin Parry added: “I attended one of the Tech Swindon events and there was a real buzz, a really positive atmosphere and we need to build on that.”