‘Blooming Beautiful’ baskets are back in Swindon town centre

Due to the positive response and feedback, inSwindon BID Company LTD has invested in hanging baskets for the town centre for a second year.

Last summer, inSwindon BID purchased 138 floral hanging baskets for the main pedestrian areas of Swindon town centre. The baskets were in full bloom from May until October, bringing over 3000 flowers that added colour and vibrancy to the shops and businesses around the town.

The hanging baskets are part of a wider project from inSwindon BID, where it supports Swindon Borough Council in its endeavours to improve ambience and vitality to ensure a welcoming and friendly environment for visitors, shoppers and workers to the town centre.

Di Powell, inSwindon BID CEO commented on the return of the hanging baskets, “The response from the hanging baskets last year was incredibly positive from both our town centre businesses and the public, there was no question around investing for a second year.

Part of our role as a BID (Business Improvement District) is to listen to the needs of our businesses and understand how we can support them by improving the experience for visitors to our town centre. Although the hanging baskets may seem a simple touch, they’ve proved to be very effective and add that vibrancy the town centre deserves during the summer months.”

More recently, the inSwindon BID ‘Clean and Well Maintained’ Working Group organised a community spring clean in the town centre that saw 92 volunteers offering, 184 hours of enhancement, collecting 71 bags of litter, removed 200+ pieces of chewing gum and 23 pieces of graffiti and recovered 3 shopping trolleys. These different projects demonstrate some of the benefits that inSwindon BID bring to the town, by providing these additional enhancements to the town centre.

Also adding to the ambience of the town, plans for the Swindon Town Festival, set for August, are in the process of being finalised and is another project that inSwindon BID is working on with The Parade, The Brunel and Regent Circus, as well as other town centre venues including, Swindon Dance, MECA, The Wyvern, Shoebox Theatre and Central Library for a collaborative approach in ensuring something is happening across the entire town centre.

Di Powell continues: “The hanging baskets are just the start of our summer campaign and we’re excited to finally see the sun shining and the town centre bustling with shoppers and visitors. Let’s hope the sun keeps shining as we bring more news on the Swindon Town Festival in the coming weeks.”