Currently, buses leaving the town centre travelling towards West Swindon go through the Railway Village, around the Mechanics’ Institute and down towards GWR Park.

More than 50% of the buses that pass through the Railway Village are not used by residents who live in the area. From 16th April, outbound buses will be redirected down Faringdon Road and Park Lane instead, cutting out the heritage area.

Following a consultation last year, Swindon Borough Council has worked closely with local bus companies to plan the trial.

Only inbound buses will now use the Railway Village. The benefits of this change will be a 50 per cent reduction in traffic around Emlyn Square, providing a quieter and safer environment for residents and passing pedestrians. It will also reduce potentially damaging vibrations to the Grade II* listed Mechanics’ Institution and damage to the road surfaces and kerbs.

The public consultation last autumn received 244 responses, 69 per cent of which supported the proposal to reroute outbound buses. Forty-one per cent of respondents, who were also bus passengers, supported relocating the bus stop outside the Bakers Cafe in Emlyn Square and 44 per cent supported relocating the Church Place bus stop to Park Lane.

The results of the trial will be reviewed in the autumn to decide whether the new routes can be made permanent.

Affected routes:

Swindon Bus Company – Routes 1/1A/1B/5/22 will instead operate via Faringdon Road and Park Lane, serving new stops at Health Hydro, Birch Street (on Park Lane) and Dean Street (on Park Lane). The existing stops at Emlyn Square and Dean Street (in Church Place) will be removed during the trial.

Routes 1/1A/1B/5/22 heading towards Swindon town centre will be unaffected by this change and will remain on their current route.

Stagecoach services 4, 6, 10, 53 and 55 leaving Swindon Bus Station will no longer serve Emlyn Square, Bristol St and Church Place. Services will instead continue on Faringdon Road, into Park Lane (B4289).

Inbound journeys will remain on the current route, serving Church Place and Bristol St as it does now.