Do You Have Any Hidden Gems On Your Doorstep?

This year we have seen huge growth and I love getting enquires from new potential clients and the opportunity to support block management opportunities in towns and cities other than Cheltenham and Bristol. So when I recently started collaborating with another business owner in Swindon I was excited to see how a new business friendship would grow and develop.

Tara Cozens is the managing director of TLC Property, an estate and lettings agency based around Wiltshire and the Cotswolds. She has worked in her sector for 15 years, and like me, made the decision to go it alone, in order to bring her values, ethics to the services she offers her clients.

The property industry is very male dominated, and so it’s great for Tara and I to share our experiences and support each other.

Read more about our collaboration here

I feel very lucky to work in such a beautiful part of the country and to work with and manage the estate of some absolutely gorgeous properties. Cheltenham with its Regency architecture and Bristol’s huge range of different and varied combination of architectural styles. It’s a privilege doing what I do every single day.

As well as collaborating with TLC Property we were recently appointed for a new development near Lydiard Park which is a beautiful historic estate on the western edge of Swindon. I had no idea it was so lovely and set in 260 acres of parkland. I’ll definitely be back for a family day out.

However, Swindon often gets bad press, and as I seem to be spending more time there, I thought I’d do some digging and I’ve found there’s much to be celebrated about the town, in terms of business and leisure.

There are several things I was surprised to find out about Swindon:

1. Connectivity - Swindon is within reach of Cardiff; Bristol; Reading and London - on the M4 corridor. There are five cities within an hour’s drive: Cardiff; Bristol Bath; Reading; Swindon. It’s a cross roads for many major train services and has excellent road links with London less than two hours away by road.
2. Tech Hub is a digital network - an information hub for all thing’s tech in Swindon and across the region. They are bringing together the business community locally, and also showcase what Swindon has to offer, to the rest of the. UK and world. Swindon is well known for its high tech and research companies, including, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Intel Corporation and The Defence Academy as well as a wealth of smaller yet successful tech innovators.
3. Good transport links across the board, with a good bus service around the town, and fast rail links to London (within an hour), Birmingham, Bath on average in 15 minutes, Bristol, about half an hour, Reading, just over half an hour and Cardiff just within an hour.
4. The McArthurGlen Outlet Village is a wonderful asset for the town and a huge visitor attraction. Based within part of the town’s historic railway works, it has over 100 designer stores offering savings on fashion brands and much more. The outlet is one of the largest covered designer outlets in Europe. It is housed in old railway workshops, and is next to the Steam Museum, where you can see the history of the railway works in Swindon.
5. Young people have options for their education in Swindon itself. UTC Swindon is a University Technical college, specialising in engineering and digital technologies, sponsored by Oxford Brooks University Students, for students between14 – 19. Swindon College and New College have merged and now provide courses including 170+  A Level, GCSE, Adult Community Education and bespoke training solutions.
6. Many top companies are based in Swindon, probably far more than you think. Names include Nationwide Building Society; CarShop UK; Great Western Railway; RWE Supply and Trading; Thames Water; Network Rail; Npower; The National Trust headquarters; English Heritage, National Office; Zurich Insurance and Catalent. Indeed Swindon is the second most economically active town and city in the South West after Bristol.
7. There are multiple business centres in Swindon. There are several serviced offices in and around the town from Rombourne serviced offices on Junction 16 of the M4; Basepoint; Nexus Business Centre, to name a few. Plenty of places for business owners to meet up, or work from.
8. There are plenty of new housing developments in and around Swindon, with different options on offer for anyone moving to the area. The demand for housing is very high and new builds are currently springing up around Wichelstowe, Tadpole Farm, with others due to come on stream. It’s also a great town for entrepreneurial smaller property developers to infill on brown land and take over rundown and neglected properties. Many locals hope that soon a community use will be found for historic sites such as the Mechanics Institution and the Locarno in Old Town.
9. Swindon has access to the beautiful Wiltshire countryside and the Cotswolds, with plenty of places for country walks and days out, including National Trust properties. There are eight white horses in Wiltshire, and two of them are very close to Swindon.

Five fun facts you may not know about Swindon

The Magic Roundabout has been named one of the scariest road junctions in Britain. Once you’ve been around it a few times, though, it starts to make sense.

James Bond has been filmed twice in Swindon for the film “View to a Kill”.

The production of the famous Spitfire was moved to South Marston, after the original building in Southampton was destroyed by bombing. 

Oasis named their band after the Oasis Leisure centre – Liam Gallagher saw the venue advertised on a tour poster. There’s currently a campaign to save the leisure centre which has been dubbed not fit for purpose and there’s a move to knock it down and start afresh.

Diana Dors, Julian Clary, Billie Piper and Melinda Messenger were all born in Swindon and the rock band XTC were also from Swindon.

I’m looking forward to developing and deepening my business connections and collaborations in the Swindon area, and I’ll keep you posted how we get on.

Do you have any hidden gems on your doorstep that you could get to know more about?