Sale of Apsley House Agreed

 On Monday, Swindon Borough Council announced their preferred buyer for Apsley House, the former home of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. I think many people were relieved that the building is to be sold to Arthur Dallimer, a developer who reached out to the community to seek approval for his plans to sympathetically develop Apsley House and retain it as a business within Old Town. A link to the Swindon Advertiser article can be found here:

https://www.apsleycorner.com/news/council-agrees-sale-of-former-museum-and-art-gallery-for-community-backed-scheme?fbclid=IwAR0Ds52RukFYeZWa8AAm3n-UUtJYifY3nkZ56YYRQMm0qB9PgWXYaKdm_Rc

There are two posts on this, one from the start of the process when Arthur contacted the Friends to ask if we were in support of the plans, the link to that piece can be found here. I also wrote a letter of support which can be read here. 

Above is an artist's impression of the plans, including removal of the cladding over the windows of the gallery to allow light into what will become a 90 seater restaurant. This development could be completed by summer 2024 which is also good news.