h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There are a lot of fair comments in the article about Swindon, but the overall impression given is extremely one-sided and contains a large number of inaccuracies.

Swindon is not exactly the most exciting place in the world, but there are an awful lot of worse places in England, with higher unemployment and high crime. In fact, Swindon has one of the lowest crime rates in the country, quite remarkable for a town so large.

The two main leisure centres which are discussed in the article, are not, as we are led to believe, crumbling and earmarked for demolition. The Link Centre building is one of the more interesting and unusual buildings in Swindon, and I have never seen any 'banks of flashing lights' in the area! Yes, the Oasis is getting on now, but when it opened people travelled from far and wide because it was actually one of the best centres in the whole of the country! It may be dated but it's certainly not third-rate. And anyway, I think it's positive that we HAVE an ice-rink, which is surely better than a load of other towns which don't have one at all!

On the town centre: well, I live there, and can report at first hand how the area is improving all the time. Since this article has been written, the area has been transformed into a lively Saturday-night scene, with new trendy late-night bars and clubs. There is even an over 25s jazz club opening next month. Furthermore, plans are in the pipeline to spend £130 million on a new shopping centre, complete with multi-screen cinema and restaurants. I think in 5 years time the area will be unrecognisable, and Swindon will have some of the best facilities in the country!

On the so-called Swindon 'yuppies'. Well, I have a degree, I own a trendy apartment in Swindon centre, and I'm staying put to reap the benefits of urban regeneration. There ARE people in Swindon who are intelligent and have money, they just don't frequent the sorts of bars that your researcher obviously went to when he wrote the article! House prices in Swindon are a bargain compared with nearby Reading (just as soul-less if not more so) and Bristol, and I expect to be rewarded handsomely for not getting 'as far away as possible' like your researcher assumes we all do.

There is also the rise of the University of Bath in Swindon, which within a few years time will bring 8000 students to the town, and provide much-needed young blood into the area.

Also, I think the comment about Swindonians being badly dressed is a very cheap shot, considering that most of the people who go to the Outlet Village are tourists! That's the sort of comment that reveals the blatant bias and narrow-minded aspect of this article - like any centre the quality of the goods there is mixed but if you have good taste then there are bargains to be had! Tell me, do any of these other towns like Reading, Slough, Basingstoke etc etc have anything that even comes close? Exactly. By all means criticise, but don't make sweeping statements about our town! As you can probably tell, many Swindonians ARE actually quite proud of the good aspects to Swindon!

In short, I would challenge your researcher to re-visit the town, and see how things are changing. I bet they'd have a good night out, and recognise that things are not nearly as bad as was made out in this article!

As another native Swindonian I can back up your opinion that Swindon has gotten a lot better in the last few years. I got back from 5 years in the centre of Bristol last year and I was glad to get away from all the tall buildings and stuffy air to somewhere, and being an asthmatic this is quite important, where I can breathe a little more easily.

I have to say though that in the last couple of weeks the big £130 million development in the town centre has been abandoned and I avoid the area whenever I can, since I don't think it's going to get much better in there. But the new shopping area in north Swindon is quite nice - it's good to have a Border's in the town now, even if the Starbuck's inside is a little small and overcrowded at times.

All-in-all I can say that Swindon is not such a bad place to live - but I'm still quite glad that I live in Wroughton, and not Swindon itself.