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[Morningangel-Iola]

For ages now our council have been threatening to build a road though our beautiful park. They never asked us about it or maybe the whispered while we weren't listening. Anyway the people of my town have been strongly against it (as well as our MP). There's no need and what good would a park with traffic streaming through it be, it wouldn't be safe, and it would be smelly horrible and what plants left would die. Here's a good quote from the council "... it will be restored to the kind of Edwardian promenade kind of reputation that it used to have and we are looking to make it a big asset." Yes because Edwardain parks had loads of cars driver through and poluting the place 

Its been going on a good few years now, my mum and I even went on a protest march in may 2004. But the good news now is the Government have said no! 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/5213448.stm

Power to the people!!!!!!!!

[Nienna]

That's an excellent result Dawn!
What plans have been put forward for all the boarded-up shops in the town centre though?
I think it's a case of ....
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!
.... otherwise they'll be dead crafty and try and sneak something past you all!

If you want to see a city under siege you ought to see it where I live!
I know I should be pleased because the end-result will be quite spectacular, but they've flattened an outdated shopping area at the top end of town and are erecting a great slab of a building!
Just to make sure everyone is kept on their toes, they're also building/re-building/refurbishing the City Hospital which is near to my end of town and that's another monstrous thing!
And to add to the misery .... the city planners or whichever peabrains decide such things, have decided that it's about time our inner ring roads were given a thorough overhaul - the roads that are the despair of many I might add - the timescale for this work to be completed ... 3 years! :'( (One year down, two to go. :'()
There's also talk of them finally completing the last stretch of inner ring road which never got done 30 years ago when the rest of it was built .... yippee about time, but the downside is that one end of this yet-to-be-built road will run at the bottom of the road where I live.
I've also had to put up with two lots of builders building these inner city apartment blocks on two brownfield sites just down from me - I'm pleased the land has been used for residential rather businesses, but the traffic and mess they caused for 18 months had to be seen to be believed.
One last thing to cheer me up - there's a large area over the road from me which is now owned by a property developer. I've no idea how many houses/flats/bungalows they'd be able to cram on that land once they finally set to and demolish what's there already, but it will no doubt resemble a rabbit warren if they get their way. However, there are also two Grade 2 listed buildings on that land too .... a bonded warehouse and an engine shed (old Great Northern railway buidings). The warehouse has been badly neglected and if it were any other building it would have been flattened long before now, the engine shed has been used up until fairly recently so that's in a reasonable state, but whatever this developer wants to do he has to do something with these two buildings otherwise he won't be granted planning permission for the rest of it! Ha!
Now I know I can't do much about the rest of what's going on near to me, but as soon I hear anything about that land over the road and the ring road being done, then I'll stand up and make pest of myself!  

Sorry Dawn ... dunno where all that lot snuck from!
Anyway, I'm delighted for you - park areas are precious.

[Morningangel-Iola]

Not sure about the boarded up buildings, that needs to be seen. I walk passed them every day it was getting quite depressing. But you can be sure what they would design would be a massive carbunkle that would look out of date in two years. They also wanted flats and wine bars, here like everywhere they are building houses in even the tiniest patch. And the people that live here don't do wine bars

Well at least they have to do something with the listed buildings. I hope they don't build anything horrible there.

We live near Bluewater mall, and thats great arciteture, the outside is styled on the oast houses (we're in kent) and three different designs its great becasue its so different it does tend to look dated

[Nienna]

And the people that live here don't do wine bars 

Ahhh I wish ... sadly most who live here do 'do' wine bars.
Why? Cos finally ... after many years of begging and pleading we're a U - n - i - v - e - r - s - i - t - y city!
Not sure why, but it appears that bar owners cram in as many places per square mile as legally possible - do they expect student-types to fritter away their fees on drinking and frivolity!?... *tongue firmly in cheek here!*
Actually, it used to be right dump here and I can remember moaning about the lack of cinemas/pubs/cafes and other facilities many times over because there just wasn't anything here. The town was fusty and old-fashioned - the knee-jerk reaction from the council of the day was to pull down lots of perfectly good buildings that they really should've preserved, and put 'modern' (ie 1970's blah) in it's place.
All that work I mentioned that's going on up the top end of town ... they've flattened 1960's, 70's and 80's buildings and starting from scratch and it will be massive

Oh and I forgot to mention they've knocked down the 1930's Bus Station (I'm glad I don't have to find the buses now they're scattered around the edges of town let alone use them!) and there's the main police station boarded up (the cop shop relocated to a site a little further out from the centre of town but still within walking distance) and the Magistrates Court next door to it is boarded up too .... all part of a grand plan called 'Riverlights' ... cos as you've guessed, all these buildings stand next to the river and some developer (can't recall which one as there have been so many  ) wants to put bars, bistros living accommodation and all that gubbins in one connected development - big snag, the Magistrates Court is another listed building so they couldn't bulldoze it (hee hee) and all the high falutin' plans and architect's drawings have met with a very lukewarm response from a large part of the local poplulation. I was delighted to learn that the latest developer has pulled-out ... the down side is I'm not sure what we're going to be lumbered with instead ....
We also had some mad lady living in a caravan on the flat roof of the bus station for weeks and weeks in protest at it being knocked down ....

They were talking about turning the bonded warehouse into a leisure complex .... please god, not .... we've enough of those places already .... my best guess is they'll have to spend a small fortune on completely renovating it top to bottom and turn it into luxury apartments/duplexes ...
To be honest, I'll be quite sad when they clear all that area cos at the moment it's all overgrown and teeming with wildlife ...

Did I tell you Dawn ... we have a moveable hole in this city ..... it's there for a few weeks and then it vanishes, only to reappear as if my magic in a completely different part of the city!!
 
It's the brick dust which has sent me doolally don't worry ...

[Sharon]

We also had some mad lady living in a caravan on the flat roof of the bus station for weeks and weeks in protest at it being knocked down

I remember seeing her on the news, I didn't realise that was near you though  .  It is a real shame she lost, I thought she was still up there.  No matter how run down the bus shelter was it is better than another tower block with more pubs and clubs.

In our area the Council is celebrating because they have taken the Government to court and made them put us back on the short list for the site for the Mega Casino.  The fact that none of the residents want a casino, let alone the biggest one in Europe (or some other impressive statistic like that) seems to have bypassed our duly elected officials completely.

Well done though Dawn for stopping the road at the moment.  Unfortunately I suspect that the Council will appeal to Two Jags who will agree to anything that winds up the British public.

[Roz]

Go Dawn!!! You should hire yourself and your peeps out as professional campaigners... I think you'd be in big demand)

(Sharon, I wish you as much luck with the new marshy flats!!!)