Good morning all This is a story in today's Swindon Advertiser and makes encouraging reading for all supporters of the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust THE prospect that a community group may be able to take control of Lydiard Park and House is beginning to look more likely. On Thursday, the cabinet voted to trigger a six week moratorium on the bidding process, meaning no deal can be done with any party during that time. In itself, that will not change a significant amount but if a community group was to submit a genuine interest in competing to run Lydiard within that time, then a further six month moratorium would be triggered. These safeguards took effect after the cabinet agreed that, in principle, the council was willing to consider leases of over 25 years on the site, which has been registered as an Asset of Community Value. The government has put measures in place to ensure that community groups have more time and assistance to compete with commercial bidders when the future of such assets is at stake. This development followed Wednesday’s extraordinary meeting of the council in which a sense began to emerge across the chamber that if a genuinely viable community bid was to be received then it could turn out to be the preferred option. The newly elected Labour councillor for Lydiard and Freshbrook, Matthew Courtliff, tabled a motion calling on the council to commit to excluding private companies from the Lydiard bidding process altogether. Referring to Lydiard as the “jewel in Swindon’s crown”, Coun Courtliff said: “This motion delivers on a pledge I made to residents on the publicly controlled status of Lydiard Park. “The importance of its future is paramount, and the decisions we take here to that effect must transcend political dogma.” Much of the debate that followed was filled with party-political point-scoring and accusations of dishonesty over Lydiard on both sides. But it was clear there were voices from both parties who seemed to be moving towards a common way of thinking on the issue of a community bid. Coun Tim Swinyard (Con – Lydiard and Freshbrook) and Coun Toby Elliott (Con – Priory Vale) both said they would welcome a viable community bid that could bring with it investment and improvement. Coun Elliott said if such a development materialised it would be “brilliant” but he cautioned against closing the door on the full process at this early stage. Coun Bob Wright (Lab – Central) sought to move away from the finger pointing and made the point that both parties essentially want the same thing - a future for Lydiard that gives the most to Swindon. He said: “I don’t actually think we’re a million miles apart on this.” The Labour motion ultimately failed and the bidding process remains open to all parties, community and commercial alike. The next phase is for any interested community groups to express an interest, not a formal bid, within the time frame of the six week moratorium. The Adver understands that there are now potentially two such groups, the Lydiard Park Heritage Trust and also an emerging group led by the staff of the current Lydiard site. Share: 1 comment