‘Swinton Scare’

‘Swinton Scare’ looks at the death within the community aspect of Swinton – mainly focusing on the shopping precinct. A place which was once filled with the bustling energy of a market, popular high street brands and many independent businesses, has in recent years seen the closure of many of these. It has left many residents questioning why and what went wrong. Was it to do with COVID or did the cost of living just hit too hard?

The Lancastrian Hall used to be many things: a public library, an exhibition space, a wedding reception and a place for community meetings. Now it lies abandoned, and for the last 10 years, gradually falling more and more apart. A building riddled with asbestos and only now, there are hints from the local council about its potential demolition.

Swinton used to be so much more than this, and it can be again. This book is to demonstrate what is going wrong, in the hope that people will realise, and things will change.