A SPECIAL task force could be set up to bring together the groups fighting to save Swindon's dilapidated Mechanics Institute.

The idea will be put before a meeting of Swindon Borough Council's cabinet on Wednesday.

The recommendation has been welcomed by the New Mechanics' Institution Trust, which has campaigned for seven years to have the building restored.

But trust spokeswoman Martha Parry says the immediate priority is still that another winter should not pass with the 148-year-old building exposed to the elements.

"To simply set up a task force is not enough," she said.

"We beg the council to undertake the urgent work and reject the application for a hotel on the site which they have sat upon for two years."

Earlier this week, Ms Parry told the Evening Advertiser that urgent work was essential to protect the building from further decay.

The work would cost between £150,000 and £250,000, but the owner, Mountmead, would be expected to foot the bill.

The task force idea comes on the back of a study into the Mechanics Institute. Commissioned by Swindon Council, the study was carried out by Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects.

It was aimed at identifying the problems suffered by the building due to neglect.

The study identifies 10 key points, including:

n the building is historically important and Grade II listed;

n it has the potential to play a significant role in Swindon's regeneration;

n the building has been identified as at risk by English Heritage;

n it is estimated that £2m will be required to properly preserve the building. £150,000 is needed for the most pressing work.

Swindon Council has asked English Heritage chairman Sir Neil Cossons to direct the new task force, which would pull together interested parties and explore ways of securing a permanent solution.

In addition to English Heritage, the council's partners in the group would be the South West Regional Development Agency and the New Mechanics' Institution Preserv-ation Trust.

Ms Parry said her group welcomed Sir Neil at the helm of the task force. She urged Swindon MPs Michael Wills and Julia Drown to watch the outcome of Wednesday's meeting.

She added: "If the council is still not prepared to act, then we are asking it to seek immediate central government action to do the work necessary to keep out weather, animals and vandals.

"The condition of this building in the face of public concern and community action via the trust is nothing less than scandalous.

"The Government can order urgent works in a last resort situation, which the trust believes is the case."