Council hedges its bets over Broadway make-over
Thatcham Town Council decides to smarten up the Broadway Green before deciding if consultation is needed
THE hedge surrounding Broadway Green will not be chopped down – for now.
Some residents were angered when they heard in May that Thatcham Town Council was considering removing the hedge, replacing it with a wooden post border as a way of giving the area a quick-fix make-over.
Councillors said that this would only go ahead if it had public-backing, but they have now decided not to spend money on a consultation for the time being.
Instead, the hedge will be trimmed back to remove some of its height and some areas will be infilled. It was also agreed that parts of the green would be returfed and the path relaid.
Councillors said that the idea of fencing would be re-considered if it was thought this work did not have enough visual impact.
However, some people have said that this was just a delaying tactic, and that the town council intended to eventually get rid of the hedge.
When Ann Clarke, of Church Gate, Thatcham, first heard about the proposals, she said that the Broadway was in a conservation area and therefore should be preserved and not be destroyed.
She said: “Visitors and residents alike remark on the pleasant green ambience afforded to the centre of Thatcham.
“If it is not necessary to remove the hedge, then it is necessary to keep it.”
This week, she said that a consultation, whether it took place now or in six months' time, would be a waste of money.
She said: “If the town council can afford to undertake the replacement costs of doing this then I can only suggest that I have been paying too much council tax.
“A public consultation costs money too.”
Janet Hislop, who was against the proposals to remove the hedge, said that she was pleased to hear about the council's decision but that if the idea re-emerged she would want a public consultation.
She said: “Trimming is fine, if that is all they propose to do.
“A public consultation is a good and fair decision.
“I just hope they are not just putting off the removal off."
Thatcham resident Lisa Eggleton wanted the hedge to stay because the area needed more greenery not less.
She said: “It could be made into a little oasis for local workers at lunchtime and a nice relaxing place for the shopper or the pensioner having a chat with their friends.
“The Broadway could be great, so let's not turn it into an unwelcoming piece of concrete.”
This week, she said a consultation was still needed. “Trimming the hedges back is far better than removing them altogether, but if this is some sort of ploy by the council to keep people sweet for six months and then all of a sudden remove the hedging without any consultation, this would be wrong,” she said.
