Re-generation or De-generation,
- that's the Question . . . - 2
This page is reserved for information about and comment on the regeneration plans, - recently spectacularly unveiled and the subject of several 'soft sell' public relations meetings in the neighbourhood.
- this is in from the traders of Radstock:
Keith Pate,
Chairman
6 The Street
Radstock
BA3 3PL
We are writing to you in the hope you might intervene to help us make some sense of the situation we have been have put in.
12 years ago the government set up a regeneration lobby to help ex mining communities.
Radstock was singled out and described by English Heritage as one of the best preserved ex mining towns in the country.
The town was granted a regeneration fund of approx. 2.9 million pounds to regenerate the town.
The aims of the grant were to improve the quality of life of those people living and working in Radstock.
a) By improving the road infrastructure to effect traffic relief.
b) To improve the public transport infrastructure by using part of the old railway land for purpose-built bus terminals.
c) To make use of part of the old railway land for good quality affordable housing.
d) To provide the necessary community infrastructure that goes with any substantial housing development I.e. Community center.
e) To provide a cycle link to complete the section linking us to Frome, as part of the Sustrans initiative.
This was to be achieved by the widening of and the re-aligning of Frome Road to allow its entrance to have one roundabout instead of the present two, - to aid traffic flow.
The old pavement of Frome Road was to become the new cycle way as it runs alongside the river and would be a nice bike ride.
Where Frome Road meets Frome Hill at the bottom, there would be a roundabout to relieve the town center of traffic going to Haydon / Coleford / Holcombe and beyond.
The bus stops were to be moved to the railway land to cut down pollution in the town center and to help cut traffic erosion on the old buildings.
They bus stops were to be purpose built with specialist parking behind for disabled and for specialist parking of bicycles.
The rest of the land towards the commercial end of the town was to be landscaped parking with public toilets (the town has none) and a c.c.t.v. camera overlooking everything and joined to our existing system.
The commercial center was to have its old tarmac pavements replaced with block ‘Heritage Style’ stone pavements.
The street lighting in the town was to be replaced with ‘Heritage Style’, the colours were actually chosen as green with gold embellishments.
There were to be ‘Heritage Style’ signs for places of interest I.e. ‘The Museum’, ‘The Play Area’ etc.
There were to be twice as many waste paper bins again of a ‘Heritage Style’.
Then the land was bought by the Norton Radstock regeneration company with the government funds.
The plan – as now presented - is to close Frome Road and divert all the traffic through the commercial center of town, by turning a one-way street into two way-traffic.
The Street is already congested and at school drop-of and pick-up times is near to standstill.
The shops life-blood, - the parking - is to be removed and the bus stops are to be placed outside the shops.
The environmental and health impact of so much traffic in such a small place will be horrendous.
The traffic erosion on the buildings will be awful.
The fronts of the shops were restored with the help of the Heritage Trust only 3 years ago.
We are told the road changes will be done first, and that the building work will take approx. 5 years.
How can one small street possibly be asked to cope with so much extra – heavy - traffic, and still have no effect on the businesses that are the commercial heart of the town centre.
We cannot possibly agree with a plan that has moved so far away from its original intentions.
We feel this is a totally inappropriate use of government funding and we would ask if you would be able to help us stop this De-generation and turn it into Re-generation it was meant to be.
