Response to Appointment of New SMAG director

Rod Hebden, the new director of the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery says SMAG 'can be complementary [to the Railway Area] - Swindon isn’t just the railway heritage and it can’t be eclipsed by it'. This repeats problematic pro new-build arguments. As regards Swindon not just being about railways: - Shouldn’t we embrace our working-class railway history instead of playing it down? - a sympathetically restored Railway Village need not 'just' be about railways, just as other restorations are not fixed to the past. With imagination, it could provide a great backdrop for a museum of Swindon’s entire evolution and its modern art. - How disrespectful is prioritising new buildings over these too long-neglected heritage buildings? A restored Railway Area AND a new-build SMAG seem unlikely. The Mechanics' Institution Trust's plans, lauded in the Adver, still lack the necessary SBC backing to enable a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Forward Swindon’s self-confessed 'roof-fixing' heritage building plans are also dubious. The approved workspace plans for the Carriage Works cover a tiny proportion of the site which could provide necessary income to a museum and art gallery. A malicious urban myth of a SMAG Trust v MI Trust battle enables SBC to close its ears to good sense, public consultation and proper negotiation. Compromise needs to be reached between all parties regarding Swindon's cultural locations. A restored, cultural Railway Village need not bar other cultural offers elsewhere - we eventually need a music venue and a new theatre, for example. Unnecessary work in the Kimmerfields area has already been environmentally damaging. The removal of two car parks left a huge carbon footprint - possibly around £1.7m, according to professional advice - before the £12 m + spent on the new car-park. Frames of old car-parks have been repurposed in other towns. The Railway Village’s historic infrastructure as a Cultural Quarter should be utilized where possible. Look at Bradford's historic Saltaires Village, a major tourist attraction village, where old workshop art galleries exhibit David Hockney. Right now, there is no chance of a restored Railway Village eclipsing the new Cultural Area, or indeed playing ANY role in Swindon life. The current SMAG backers, optimistic as they are, need to be to be asked to be part of this rethink and rebalance. Please do help to spread the word... to date, the local media are decidedly in favour of the new-build and so word of mouth and social media are the only ways to spread the message of discontent!