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OPINION: Letters to the editor of the Newbury Weekly News




Is pedestrianisation a generational issue?

It was a shame that the sole letter supporting pedestrianisation in the high street chose to remain anonymous.

If they were afraid of any stigma attached against prevailing opinion then I can assure them that they are on the right side of future trends, particularly in Europe and not just in countries with warmer climes.

Some older citizens can barely imagine a world without the convenience of four wheels while younger generations are increasingly turning against cars for partly ecological reasons, but also the extortionate costs of learning to drive and insurance, never mind the small matter of buying even the cheapest of runabouts.

Pedestrianisation hours have been extended in the town centre
Pedestrianisation hours have been extended in the town centre

If the cost of parking is the issue then shops and restaurants should be able to issue car park vouchers for minimum amounts spent.

It’s the mindset that needs to change, perhaps a generational issue.

If pedestrianisation were already the norm, wouldn’t we howl at the prospect of cars disturbing our peaceful stroll.

Tom Brown
Gore End

What is disadvantage of pedestrianisation?

Some letters in the July 3 issue were lamenting the lack of visible support for the pedestrianisation trial.

Two rather likely reasons seem to elude the authors.

Firstly, people don’t write letters to newspapers about having a neutrally positive experience, which I suspect is the case for most residents in this matter.

Secondly, the sort of people who have time to write these letters in the first place are often retired.

Perhaps this explains the “10am till 5pm is perfectly adequate for most people’s requirements” comment from one letter, as the rest of us have jobs to go to, at precisely those hours.

I for one enjoy being able to walk in the town centre after my working hours, which has become a much more pleasant experience since the trial began.

When I went to a recent performance at the Corn Exchange, it was lovely to see the audience make use of the whole square to meet their friends before going in, and then walk through afterwards as they discussed the show on their way home.

Later pedestrianisation in Market Place
Later pedestrianisation in Market Place

It’s great to see outdoor seating of restaurants spreading out on to what would’ve been the road – in summer evenings, this is especially welcome, and I’m glad I don’t have to eat a meal as cars are driving by half-a-metre away from me.

To those who ask what the benefits are, I ask what are the disadvantages?

That you have to drive for an extra two minutes to go around?

That, god forbid, you may have to walk one extra minute from a car park?

Indeed, there are several car parks right there; ones at Parkway Shopping centre, Camp Hopson, the Northbrook multi-storey car park, and two pay-and-display car parks just off Northcroft Lane.

The anonymous person asking “why make life more difficult [...] for people who want to [go to] the Corn Exchange” may be thrilled to hear about the Corn Exchange car park located right behind it...

Along with three more 24-hour car parks in the same area.

If someone has a genuine issue with pedestrianisation, I absolutely hope we can work as a community to find a solution.

However “I don’t like that I have to drive around” does not, I’m afraid, elicit much sympathy.

Valeri Gladkova
Speen

Town centre deserted and looks just awful

In the 20 years or so I’ve lived in Newbury, I’ve never seen such a furore that has been created by the ludicrous pedestrianisation extension in the town.

Like Dave Shields said in his letter (Newbury Weekly News, July 3), I’ve also yet to meet one person that has had anything good to say about it.

Of course, the majority clearly voted not to extend it, but were ignored.

This topical cartoon on the extended pedestrianisation hours for Newbury town centre was submitted by Richard Howell
This topical cartoon on the extended pedestrianisation hours for Newbury town centre was submitted by Richard Howell

“Ah yes,” said the council, “but that wasn’t actually a referendum, merely a consultation exercise.”

Whatever it was, the majority were disgracefully ignored.

Liberal they may be, but Democrats? I don’t think so!

To satisfy my own curiosity, I actually went into the town centre recently to see this thriving continental café culture for myself.

It was a dry hot summer’s evening and I saw all of about six people.

Three were having a coffee outside Costa, 10 minutes before they closed.

The other three were walking briskly through Northbrook Street and then down towards West Mills, presumably going home after a day’s work.

I was then nearly flattened by two reckless cyclists riding down Bartholomew Street by the church, like they were in the finishing stage of the Tour de France (why is this still allowed if it’s pedestrianised?).

Apart from that, the town centre was virtually deserted and it looked awful.

How many of these councillors I wonder have actually bothered to go into the town and see what it’s like in the evening? Very few if any I would suggest.

It's all very well some of these car-hating councillors and the anonymous letter writer in last week’s NWN saying we should be using public transport more, but it’s simply not up to the job.

I recently spent a week travelling to Reading by train for work and the service was abysmal. Every day the train was either late or cancelled.

This situation in Newbury is so ridiculous and people are clearly not happy about it.

Admittedly this is my second letter on this subject, having never written to the NWN before.

Whether I write again depends on whether common sense prevails and this scheme is abandoned

and pedestrianisation is returned to the original times of 10am to 5pm.

Sadly, I won’t hold my breath on that.

Rose Curtis
Andover Road, Newbury

Pedestrianisation is making town pleasant

I wanted to add my voice to the ongoing discussion regarding the extended pedestrian-only hours on Northbrook Street.

I am struggling to see where all the discontent is coming from.

In my experience as a driver, the change makes little difference – if I want to drive north to south past the town centre, I will take the A339 dual carriageway.

While it is busy during peak hours, I rarely see it coming to a full stop (bar at traffic lights which was the same on Northbrook Street) or backing up too much.

From 6pm onwards, traffic starts thinning out anyway, so having two roads doing pretty much the same thing seems unnecessary.

On the other hand, as a pedestrian and cyclist, I can say that the extended hours are an incredible and noticeable improvement to my experience of the town centre, especially post-work in the evenings.

No more checking for cars whilst moving, no more engine hum and smell as vehicles idle at the traffic lights.

It’s peaceful, open and pleasant.

There are still plenty of people out and about at 5pm, as some shops do not close until later, whilst people begin heading to pubs and restaurants.

The other Saturday, I myself was visiting various shops between 4.50pm and 6pm, and was pleasantly surprised at how busy the street was.

If it had been open to vehicles, undoubtedly the pavements would have been quite cramped.

Imagine also having a meal with family on a pleasant summer evening in the Market Square; rather than ‘enjoying’ this as cars drive a couple of metres away from you (especially a concern if you have young children!), you’re now treated to relative peace and smells of foods untainted by exhaust fumes.

Perhaps one factor for the discontent is the degradation of bus services over the years, making people increasingly reliant on cars to get around.

It would be fantastic to see more frequent and later bus services in and around Newbury.

I wonder if a lot of the complaints could’ve been avoided if the council had put more thought into mitigating any issues before enacting this scheme, such as introducing regular bus services that stop at either end of the pedestrianised zone or a park-and-ride system for people coming from further afield, to reduce traffic in the centre.

However I also wonder if NWN had a similar outpouring of disdain for the original pedestrianisation scheme in 1998, as I am sure in hindsight very few people would argue that it was a bad idea.

It’s time for a trip to the local newspaper archive...

Ewen Berry
Speen

Council reorganisation will make position worse

Back in the 70s I worked alongside Mike Bichard (now Lord Bichard).

Mike’s job was to get the newly-formed county council to work co-operatively and smoothly with the six new boroughs/districts (including West Berkshire).

He once said to me that restructuring is easy but changing process is difficult but invariably politicians go for the former, which is visible and can demonstrate that they have taken action, and ignore the latter, which is below the surface and where results, if there are any, take years to emerge.

Wise words, and I see that is exactly what is happening with the latest local government reorganisation.

Process must include consideration of the way local authorities are financed.

I have written before on how central government has emasculated local government in the past 50 years.

Fifty years ago Berkshire County Council raised 80 per cent of its money from the rates and only 20 per cent came from Government grants.

Today it is the reverse – local authorities have become no more than agents for central government spending.

Are we happy with that?

I for one am not but there is no mention of changing the financial arrangements in these latest local government reorganisation proposals.

As far as I can tell they will make the position worse, as the Government simply wants to have to deal with fewer agents to distribute the money it raises from us.

The other elephant in the room is devolution. If devolved government is working well in Scotland, Wales and NI, should it not be extended to England? And if it is not, should it not be scrapped?

But where is the debate on this?

Clive Williams
Pangbourne Road, Upper Basildon

Would peace women now be terrorists?

Last week our local MP Lee Dillon pointed out that recent laws would have made the Greenham Peace Women into terrorists.

My late mother participated in the Greenham protests, and I am proud of her actions, all of which were non-violent and none of which involved criminal damage.

Nevertheless, she expressed explicit support for an organisation where some members engaged in criminal damage of the Greenham air base (for which they were rightly arrested) which means that under current legislation my mother would have been a terrorist just for expressing this support.

The Government should be ashamed of their assault on the right to free speech, and also for debasing the English language.

‘Terrorist’ should denote someone with murderous aims, rather than a jibe against organisations they disagree with.

We are constantly reminded on the broadcast media that Hamas is a terrorist organisation.

By contrast this term is never applied to the Israeli Defence Force, an organisation actively engaged in genocide, ethnic cleansing, and destruction of property.

The Government has so debased the term ‘terrorist’ that it is almost meaningless.

David Cooper
Garden Close Lane, Newbury



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