Hotel Industry News
Plan for Swindon Locarno as a hotel
Monday, 07, June 2010
THE FUTURE of one of Swindon’s most iconic buildings has been mapped out once more.The redevelopment of the former Locarno and Old Town hall has been on the cards since planning permission was granted in 2008, but developers Bach Homes Locarno Ltd have been forced to drastically alter the plans because of the recession. The original plans would have seen the dilapidated site transformed into 115 apartments, a new registrar’s office, two restaurant or bar units, a coffee shop, a new 133 space underground car park and a new civic space within The Square .
But the developers have now been forced to scale down the plans and have re-worked them into a 117-bedroom hotel, restaurant, 84 apartments and a 149-space underground car park.Peter Lawson, of Turley Associates working on behalf of Bach Homes Locarno Ltd, said: “The last two years have been difficult ones for the development industry, but our team have been working hard behind the scenes to improve the financial viability of the scheme without increasing the overall scale or design of the development.