I received this from VWHDCs Parking Services dept.
Parents can purchase a 20 minutes term time only permit allowing you to drop off in the morning and collect in the afternoon from our office at the Corn Exchange Gloucester Street for a fee of £10.00 a term.
There's information about other permits on http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/CarParks/DetailPage-5559.asp
Gloucester Street Annual 3 months £40, Annual £120, 1 day per week £25.00
GW
Folly Path - 24/7/04
I'm fairly certain that VWHDC have accepted that it is their responsibility to clean the Folly Path.
Let's hope so!!
Gene
Free parking at school times - 24/7/04
I've heard that parents can park in the Gloucester St car park at no chargein order to take and collect children from school.
Does anyone know this to be true?? Where is it publicised?
Gene
Car park permits - 24/7/04
I learned recently that you can buy annual/3month of day permits for the Gloucester St Car park. Have a look at http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/CarParks/DetailPage-5559.asp
Drew Legacy
The money from the Drew Legacy (pursued successfully by Colin Desborough and Clive Davis of Faringdon Association of Residents (FAR)) is now coming through.
The work to install adequate power at the Health Centre for a breast screening mobile vehicle will start 'imminently' Community nurse equipment is being received, and I think the First Responder money is on its way.
Initially Frank Roberts(also of FAR) spotted that this money was about to be put into a national NHS pot. Through this and Colin and Clive's energy, the £50k, bequeathed to the town, is actually reaching us.
Thankyou to all of you!
CCTV
Now that Broadband is available in Faringdon, the cost of CCTV is much reduced, and now becomes an affordable possibility.
The Chamber of Commerce is pursuing this, as I understand our VWHDC councillors are.
Faringdon Town Council Meeting - 14/7/04
Pump House
Tenders for renovation and mechanical and electrical work have been received The main contract is to be awarded to Latimer, the lowest tender is £176861
The lowest mechanical (£23616) and lowest electrical (£60578) are felt to be too high, so the specs are to be reviewed as there is 'considerable scope for reduction' Two areas mentioned that could be considered to reduce the cost are an IT network and Fire safety of the building
It is anticipated that the M&W work will cost 25%-30% of the main contract- up to £53k
So will this 'do' the whole building - no only the first floor. This is level 2A . Level 1 having already been done to make the building weather proof /safe.
It was mentioned in passing that Lord Faringdon has agreed that the 2 upper floors can be used to raise income - it was not clear if this meant residential accommodation or offices.
The Theatre - renovation/demolition was not mentioned.
No mention was made of how much had been spent so far.
FTC have received a claim for costs from Lord Faringdon's solicitor of £29478. They intend to try and reduce this through negotiation.
Corn Exchange
FTC have rescinded the decision not to renegotiate the lease for the Corn Exchange as they now have a letter from VWHDC indicating that only a peppercorn rent(rather than the £17k per annum originally wanted) is appropriate.
As well as the level of rent, ££ to cover internal repairs, building security, external repairs needs to be agreed. The current lease expires 31/8/04.
I got the impression that if FTC choose not to take out a new lease that VWHDC would close the building.
FTC get the income from the building, but also pay all the running costs( not external repairs)- and as such provide a service to VWHDC as they have offices in the building.
VWHDC run the community buildings for Abingdon and Wantage- not something that they appear to want to do in Faringdon.
It seems that FTC have considered moving their offices into the Pump House Great concern was expressed over the meeting that Cnclrs Barber, Cox and Thompson (all VWHDC councillors, Barber and Cox FTC cnclrs also) had with Lord Faringdon.
They said that they went to see him in their capacity as VWHDC (not FTC) councillors to understand his 'side' of the history of the Pump House. In passing they mentioned that FTC were considering using an upper floor as the Town Clerks office.
This was considered by other FTC councillors to have severely compromised any negotiation that FTC have with VWHDC over the Corn Exchange lease.
It must be difficult sometimes to be both a FTC and a VWHDC councillor- sometimes these organisations have conflicting aims, or are 'in opposition' and the 'hats' they must wear are constantly changing.
I just wish they would have Faringdon, not councillor hats on.
As a result of the meeting FTC received a letter from Lord Faringdon's solicitors. The reply has cost the town additional ££. The matter is to be referred to VWHDC Standards Committtee
New Sewage Treatment Plant, Lechlade Road
It seems that Thames Water is planning a lime treatment facility that will deal with sewage waste from the surrounding area. Cnclr Heathcoat stated this could mean 4 lorries a day coming along Park Road. It seems that Tmases Water don't need planning permission to do this.
The worst impact would be the smell - it is anticipated that given the plants proximity to Faringdon, that it would reach the Town centre.
Cnclr Heathcoat is actively pursuing this to prevent any detrimental effect on Faringdon, the residents and the surrounding countryside.
Gene Webb
Messy Faringdon - 19/7/04
The Folly park is in a bit of a mess. There are lots of bags of rubbish hanging from the entrance gates. There is no sign of a bin anywhere, so people have obviously just dumped their rubbish at the gates. It looks a real mess. Also all around the picnic tables there are bottles etc lying on the grass.
On the entrance route into the park there are two sets of dumped settees/chairs and an old smashed up TV.
The approach to the park is less than impressive, due to all the mess.
On route to the park we walked down Volunteeer Way, and the children had a play in the playground there. The bins there are overflowing and consequently, the whole area is covered in litter.
I I have to say that walking around yesterday afternoon, the town looked a bit sorry for itself, too
Hopefully we can all nag the right people to get it sorted out
Jo M
Reply from VWHDC Parks and open spaces section
"Folly Park is owned by the District Council the road way into the site I believe is owned by a Mr Barnsfield. An order has been raised for the installation of a litter bin, if it is not already in place then I would expect it to be in by the end of this week. Litter clearance will take place once per week (most likely on a Monday).
Volunteer Way is still in the ownership of the developer although it is hoped that it will be transferred to the DC in the near future"
Local Plan - 14/7/04
Sharon McIntosh's plea for letters to the Environmental Services Directorate (ESD) arrived on the website on 12/7/04. As I pointed out on 28/6/04 such letters should have been submitted by 15/7/04...i.e. today.
However anyone who feels strongly about the matter should still write.
They will probably receive a letter back saying "The Director of Environmental Services acknowledges the receipt of your letter and notes your representations which will be taken into account before the application is determined" ( I have quite a collection of them.)
However despite the rather formal phrasing of the reply I really believe that notice is taken of them. So Nil Desperandum !
I would also suggest that letters are backed up by phone calls to the ESD on 01235-520202 ext 505.
You will receive a pleasant surprise when you are connected to a friendly person prepared to give you a sympathetic hearing.
If sufficient calls are made the ESD will get the message that their plans are not universally welcomed.
Remember that when plans are made available to public scrutiny the Planners are entitled to assume that their ideas are acceptable unless they are told otherwise...SO TELL THEM !..But be nice !
Harry G Mitchell.
Notice of Second Deposit of the Local Plan - 12/07/04
One day in mid June It was suggested to me that I should attend a public viewing of these plans as they concerned the area directly opposite my property. On the same day a map showing exactly what was being proposed for the area came into my possession and I was very shocked.
So much so that I knocked on the doors of many of my neighbours to ask if they knew anything about the plans, no-one did!.
I Have an original first draft map dated October 2002 (PolicyH4(i)) which shows the Proposed housing site, old Tuckers Nursery on which 60 house were due to be built as this was brown field there were few objections to this and the people of Faringdon were delighted that a ''10 acre landscaped park-including planting of 1000 trees,areas for ball-games,kite flying,picnicking and a pond should be of benefit to the whole town''.
The new plan Second Deposit Draft local plan 2011. Shows an entirely different picture as it proposes the change of use of the Country park to a housing development of between 400 and 600 affordable and social houses and the relocation of the country park to the sandy field known as Jespers hill. This will also be the site of the new cricket ground. As well as opening up Stanford road from the new A420 roundabout.
This will cause many traffic problems for this area as it is almost impossible to make your way down London Road or Ferndale Road as it is because of the severe car parking problems.
The Country park project was part of a Section 106 agreement whereby planning permission was granted for housing development linked to the provision of a''significant contribution'' to the community, in this case the proposed park and the first phase was completed all except the provision of bins with the help of a £78,375 grant from the ''Excellent'' Countryside Agency's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund .
Faringdon residents, Faringdon Town Council and Fishing Club gave their support and although small it is a very pleasant,open space that is far from the busy road and which has attracted all kinds of wildlife in the short time it has been open and people have come from far and wide to visit.
Work on the second phase was due to begin in the spring of 2003 and the good people of Faringdon are still waiting patiently for their promised Country Park, but I'm afraid we have a fight on our hands because the District Planning Officer told some Residents at a small ,hastily arranged meeting on Friday in the Old Town Hall that his decision was final and that he was fully in favour of the changes!
So, how do you feel about this? are you willing to fight for your rights or will you stand back and let this happen just as we all did with the so called improvements to Faringdon Town Centre?
Please give us the support we need?
Do get involved by writing to: The Director of Environmental Services Vale of the White Horse District Council Abbey House Abingdon OX14 3JN by July 15 2004
Thank-you!
Sharon McIntosh 01367 243596
Faringdon Enterprise Gateway - 8/7/04
The Faringdon Enterprise Gateway now officially open for business, and we are running a series of business seminars over the coming months.
The next one is planned for Thursday 15 July (09.45 - 13.00) and is focused on helping the Over 50's who are thinking about or are planning to go into Self Empoyment.
The event is jointly run by PRIME (who are specialists in this area) and OBE (who are focused on business start-ups in the county.)
Please contact me directly if you wish to attend.
David North Director Faringdon Enterprise Gateway Unit 3 RAC, Park Road, Faringdon, Oxon SN7 7BP david@faringdongateway.co.uk
0845 458 3080
www.faringdongateway.co.uk
Speed Bumps - 9/7/04
I sent an email back on 12.05.04 commenting on the fact that the speed bumps outside the Corn Exchange are rubbish teeth jarring ones, as opposed to the higher quality (if I can use that word when referring to speed bumps) version seen around the town hall area.
I did mention at the time that I'd be happy to eat my words if I was wrong and the work had not yet been completed.
I am happy to report that I can partly eat those words as more work has since been done. White paint has been added to them.
At least now I can see the point when my shock absorbers disappear out of the top of the front wings of the car, rather than it taking me by surprise.
Thanks a lot.
Richard Edgington.
Car Parking in Faringdon - Public Meeting - 6/7/04
At the Corn Exchange on Thursday 15th July at 7:15pm to discuss the car parking report the Working Party has submitted.
The meeting is planned to be fairly informal with tables around which people can sit to discuss the report.
I hope that sufficient people from the working party will attend so they can be at the table to discuss the report with others
Tim Evans
Faringdon Arts Festival - 5/7/04
What a great event - so many activities to choose from - the town was buzzing.
Well done and THANKYOU to all of you who organised it and so successfully managed it
I hope you want to do it again
Gene Webb
Notice of Second Deposit of the Local Plan - 28/6/04
(involving Policies H4,E3 and L12)
The Changes are on deposit from 3rd June to 15th July.
There was an Exhibition explaining this planning issue in the Corn Exchange on 25/6 and 26/6. I went to see it and found it to be BORING and INCOMPREHENSIBLE but certainly not crowded.
I probably won't spend my time trying to understand it. But I am not proud of my lethargic attitude as I also ignored the alterations to the Town Centre Plan and only took an interest in it when I thought the result was a disaster.
This plan sets out in some detail what will happen to Faringdon in the future. It offers the opportunity for residents to question it and submit comments on it but objections must be in writing and be submitted by the 15th July 2004.
The VWHDC can't do any more !
I don't suppose I'll bother until it's too late.
Anyone interested ?
Name supplied
Having objected to a number of parts of the first draft, I meant to go - but I forgot all about it- I too will complain later I suspect Ed
Parking - 24/6/04
I was just thinking, If the ex community centre in the market place is not to be used as a theatre and is to be used as office space ???, why not remove all the unused and very tatty buildings to it's rear, and make parking with access to the market place through the community centre.
Also, the McCarthy development, why force them to build the extra affordable housing, thus causing more parking problems, why not ask them to make use of that part of land for pay and display 24hr parking for the council.
Wont' solve all problems, but could help.
Andy Boston
Market Restaurant Faringdon
Footballers? - 25/6/04
I don't waste my valuable time watching football but while waiting for Mastermind to come on I happened to see a bit of the match and.. We wuz robbed.
Was it because our captain was afraid to get his haired messed up by playing too hard ? NO. - Because he was using Harmony Hair Spray so no worries there.
Was it Wayne's mum because she didn't tie his shoe lace properly..NO. Because she had offered to put Velcro on his boots but he said it would make him look a cissy.
Was it Urs Meier the referee..NO..Because he had asked if he could have his blind dog with him and it was refused.
Was it Sven ? NO..Because when he should have been discussing tactics the Bank of England increased the Base rate and Sven was trying to work out how much extra income he would get for his £100,000 a week pay packet
So who was to blame.?
It was Ricardo their Goalkeeper. . It wasn't scoring the winning goal. It was what he did when Sven was going enny meeny mine moe to decide who should take the penalties.
It was a long chat because David had promised Posh that Brooklyn could have a go if necessary because he repeatedly beat his dad in their back garden.
During this chat Ricardo deliberately and with malice aforethought emptied his waterbottle on the penalty spot. Poor David slipped on it but in the 75 degree heat it dried out before the Portuguese had their go..
Quite simple really and I repeat... We wuz robbed!!
HGM
Poppies - and why they're so good this year- 22/6/04
The farm has been farmed organically for the last eight years by Neill Saunders, and for the last four years the sandy land has been in a nitrogen fixing red and white clover ley ( short term grass and clovers)
Hence the ground is a lot more fertile than in previous years and we were expecting a good yield of Organic bread making wheat ( variety is Solstice)
It seems that the poppy seed which has laid dormant for many years experienced a specially good growing season with conditions just right for them to take over and produce the spectacle we do have.
Spraying started about 1947 - before that farming was organic - and poppy seed from before 1947 remains in the soil and given the right conditions it seems all seeds germinate.
Lots of people had pulled up around the roundabout this afternoon and were running around in the poppies - it was not intentional that we grew poppies - guess we should have asked for a small donation to the Church funds.
Daphne Saunders
Thanks Daphne Ed
The Poppy field - 20/6/04
Any chance of putting your photo of the poppy fields on the website with some info on its owner or origin?
It isn't often that Fun-Filled-Faringdon can have attracted so much passing interest.
PS..I understand that Opium, Morphine, Heroin production is not very complicated and reprehensible though it is, it might reduce our Council Tax...No ? Oh well just a thought !
Harry Mitchell
Poppy pictures soon Ed
Old Health Centre - No Occupants and Lots of Weeds!- 17/6/04
It was all completed and ready for occupation about 6 months ago and it's still empty.
The developers must have invested a fortune to buy and refurbish the building.
I cannot understand why they aren't rushing to get it occupied and start to recover their investment.
I heard that there are 9 units for shared ownership plus one for rental, and we keep hearing about the need for more affordable houses.
Anyone know what's happening?
Eddie Williams
Speed Bumps are not Pedestrian Crossings- 17/6/04
On 24/5/04 I predicted that granting Cover Construction permission to build 16 houses behind the Old Health Centre would be asking for trouble and on 1.6.04 the Town Council shared my view.
Not a lot of people know that because not a lot of people attended the insufferably overheated meeting where the matter was discussed.
I am now prepared to make another prediction.
Sometime in the future, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week or even next month, someone is going to be killed or seriously injured in our Town Centre.
The reason ? The speed bumps are being mistaken for pedestrian crossings
.
There are two reasons for this misunderstanding.
Firstly they are level with the pavements making it easy for prams,bundle buggies and Zimmer frames to cross and secondly most are marked by stout wooden posts which appear to invite pedestrians to cross.
Drivers, apart from the occasional visitor, know that the speed bumps can seriously damage their car's suspension so they slow down. Pedestrians assume that this marked deceleration is to allow them to cross and so confidently hurl themselves, complete with prams, bundle buggies or Zimmer frames, in the path of a driver who, as he approached, had no intention of stopping.
I don't know why the speed bumps have been made so inviting but I can understand why the posts are there.Should we ever have a serious flood in the centre of the town or a snow fall which obliterates the speed bumps drivers will still know exactly where to slow down.
This situation has never happened in my 40 years living here but that doesn't mean it can't happen and due praise to the planners who have anticipated this eventuality.
Harry G Mitchell
PS. Has everyone seen the Poppy Field from the Stanford Road Island ? It looks great.
My memory of the discussions about the new Market Place are that these are meant to be crossing points - but of course not controlled pedestrian crossings. I hope your prediction is wrong!!
I have digital photos of the poppies if anyone wants one - they(the poppies) are truly wonderful Ed
smoking- 7/6/04
i completely agree with you.. smoking like didcot power station does make you smell and could possibly give you cancer, along with other things like breathing problems etc? so why do they do it?
well, my friends say "i'm not doing it to act cool, i'm just doing it" but the reason most young people do it is because it gets them into a whole new friendship group, they get named "cool" and "sound" and normally they only smoke around friends, not when they're alone. also, if you lend someone "cooler" than you a cigerette, then maybe they might think you're "cool" too..
i know this from experience.. well if having yellow nails and smelling like a barbeque is cool.. i'd rather be a nerd :)
kate (or katherine)
Speed Bumps - 1/6/04
Whose idea was it to have a "speed bump" outside the front entrance to the Corn Exchange?
Surely nobody in their right mind would attempt to drive round that sharp corner (from Gloucester Street) at a speed in excess of 10 mph.
So take the damned thing up and put it somewhere where it would be more useful.
Donald Barber
I actually thought this was happening on 2nd June. When I walked through the town at about 4pm it was being dug up. When I walked back 2 hours later it didn't look as if anything had changed to me. It's still there anyway. What is going on? Ed
From 'the pensioner' - 1/6/04
Comments from Katherine (age 14) have been an eye opener for me
I have a query to add to the pensioner's list which Katherine or her mates might like to answer.
She gets £520 annual pocket money and I assume that her friends get roughly the same. This will subsidise buying clothes,CDs, DVDs, trips to the cinema, cosmetics (just for the girls...I hope) etc.
My question is why do so many of her age group spend money on cigarettes ?. OK so the lucky ones may not get lung cancer but they will certainly smell like old ashtrays.
I do understand that some of them may have an inferiority complex and feel more secure with a cigarette in their mouths. (actually a dummy might act just as well and wouldn't do any harm).
They try to copy their elders without realising that most of them belong to that pathetic group who say "I could give up tomorrow if I wanted to".
So there we go Katherine or any other teenager... Do you and your friends believe that smoking is cool and sophisticated or just gross, manky or minging ?
HGM
Reply to the "pensioner willing to learn"- 1/6/04
( im sorry to call you that, i don't know your name) Of course i'll try to get my friends involved.
You're grandaughter may like to point out that you don't know what is cool and what isn't.. well with all the 70s and 80s music coming back into fashion.. and the dress sense too, you probably are more clued than we are, maybe u could teach us a thing or two! :D
we have to take big bags to school as most of the schools in this area don't have lockers!(or if they do they havn't got the keys back from the people who used them the year before, and people end up taking your thing-sad i know, but it happens!) so we have to carry all our books to each lesson. which, when you have two or three books for each one, can be a very big pain! quite literally sometimes. then, on top of that, they need lunchboxes, or money for lunch, clothes for after school, if they arn't going straight home, and for the girls a very big bag of make-up. (i know all this because my make-up bag was probably the biggest)
As for spitting.. i have NO idea why they do it, girls do too, just not quite as much-not very lady like, huh?
the answer is yes, WE DO text eachother the night before about what we'll wear, and i'd get calls in the morning to double check too... strange, you may think, but everybody does it!
i don't think boys realise that the things they do can be inconveniencing others.. and i don't think they mean to either, its just the way they are.
Pocket money. that's a hard one, some people have to do chores, and for each chore they get a certain amount of money, as for me, i have to keep my room reasonably tidy, and do the washing up on the occasion i don't beg my older brother to do it, and i get £10 a week, and £5 in my bank account-to save.. though i often decide to take a shopping trip and spend most of my savings.
I hope i have helped you to understand a little more,or maybe i've made you even more confused, (i don't know) keep the questions coming, i'm delighted to have the chance to explain a few things, maybe people will understand that we're not just animals that that make mess and eat to many sweets. -most of the time. :)
katherine
The improved Market Place through the eyes of a 14 year old - 31/5/04
Good for you. It was great to see your comments on the website particularly as it coincides with mine despite the slight age gap (well to be honest the gap is 60 years)
Is there any chance that you can get some of your friends to add their views on this or any other topic ?
My grand-daughter is a bit older than you and often makes it clear that I don't know where she is coming from and I don't have a clue about what is cool and what isn't. How about educating me?
For example what on earth do kids carry in the gigantic back packs they take to school? I have been all round the world plus a few other places and I didn't need a case much bigger.
Why do boys need to spit so much and do they do it on their own carpets at home ?
Some days girls go to school in skirts and the next day in trousers and they all seem to change on the same day...do they text each other the night before ?
When boys leave their bikes on the pavement do they measure the distance from each side in order to get exactly in the middle where they cause the most hassle ?
How much is a reasonable amount of pocket money for a 14 year old ?
I reckon that list will do for starters so how about some answers.
Once again well done
A pensioner willing to learn
It would be good to hear the views of young people - any subject within reason!!. Do email us on talkingpoints@faringdon-online.co.uk
We need to know the senders name- but it doesn't have to be published
Ed
Faringdon Market Square - 30/5/04
At 14, you may think i should like the "new improved" market place, i mean its new, modern, just what a teenager like me would love to see right? In fact, you're very wrong.
Being home taught i don't spend a lot of time in the town centre anymore. I'm either studying or with friends in swindon/oxford. so how shocked i was to walk into town to find it had been modernised!
i've lived in faringdon most of my life and have always remembered it as being old fashioned and beautiful.
The road between the bargain centre and rob the cheese is barely big enough for one car to drive down. This may have been intentional-to stop so much traffic passing through. But instead, people are driving up onto the pavement to get passed one another, especially in rush hour and after school. How long will it be before some unfortunate person gets injured?!
The new pavements are uneven and within a couple of months will be dirty and chewing gum stained. Why they decided to use such a light colour i don't know.
At school we were taught that many famous people who visited our town.
There is nothing left now to show it's history.
What next? knocking down the churches to replace them with burger bars?
In all, i do like the look of the town, it would look great in a place like swindon town centre. but not in a small place like Faringdon. it's taken the life and history out of our town.
kind regards. katherine, age 14
Oh dear, I see we have our first casualty in the new improved Market Place, and if you look carefully at the colour scheme of the offending scrape, you will surmise, as I did, that the vehicle responsible for leaving the tell tale paint on the post belongs to none other than.......Stagecoach. Not surprising, since there is insufficient room for the buses to turn, if there are vehicles waiting at, or approaching, the junction of Market Place and Cornmarket/London Street.
Personally, I quite like the look of the new development, but yes, for those who disagree, there was a time when we could have raised various points, and objections, as there were exhibitions about the various schemes on offer, in the Corn Exchange at the planning stage. Most of us however, don't have enough specialist knowledge of town planning and traffic management arrangements, to make informed comments, and have to stick to whether we like the general appearance, or not. We fail to 'spot the deliberate mistakes'.
It is perplexing for us - ignorant members of the public - armed with only local knowledge and common sense; when (presumably) experienced planners devise these sometimes unworkable schemes. Remember the old adage - "measure twice, cut once"?
Doubtless it will all sort itself out, but if Stagecoach continue to bend their buses on our hitching posts, I rather fear that we may be the losers.
Hilary Taylor
More Market Place ........24/05/04
The changes to our town centre have resulted in a great deal of comment...most of it adverse. The planners, and I'm still not sure who THEY are, have been getting a lot of criticism but I wonder if this is justified.
I presume that everyone living in Faringdon did, at some time, have the opportunity to make known their views. Until something affects me directly I leave everything to those public spirited men and women who are prepared to spend time in, often boring, meetings.
The first time I took an interest in the project was when the pretty coloured picture, optimistically entitled: Faringdon ~ Market Place Improvements, was made available in the Corn Exchange in December 2003. By then it was too late as the decisions had been made.
The Swan Lane development is ongoing and has been widely discussed. It is almost certain that it will lead to parking problems in the surrounding roads.
Due to illegally parked cars London Street is now a no-bus area and there is some confusion about where the buses are supposed to go. It is understandable that passengers may be confused but, according to Hilary, this confusion is shared by the drivers. Decisions are presumably now being made to sort out this mess.
I am not aware that I have a particular aptitude for seeing into the future, at my age it is perhaps just as well. But I am prepared to inform the planners of a possible problem which can still be avoided.
I predict ( completely free of charge) that if The Cover Construction Co Ltd get, at their fourth attempt, planning permission for 16 or so houses behind the Old Health Centre Site ( which is still unoccupied and therefore still a car-free zone ) the congestion in Coxwell Road will also lead to the extension of the Faringdon No-Go Area for buses.
Subsequent criticism of The Planners will be justified. Faringdon pensioners are given free bus tokens but they will soon be as much use to car-less pensioners as a pair of Roller Skates.
Finally...I was pleased to hear Faringdon mentioned on the TV Local News. It seems we have the most expensive petrol in Oxfordshire...I understand the reasons for this but it is still a rather dubious honour.
Harry G Mitchell
Market Square- 21/05/04
I have mixed feeling about the Market Square improvements except for one area; as a driver it is now dangerous territory. Most oncoming vehicles do not stop or give way as they approach the Market Square from the Corn Exchange.
If they are in a line of traffic, they just barge through regardless of whether there is any room. Also the pedestrian 'crossings' are deadly.
Most pedestrians see it as their right of way to cross the road at this point and expect the traffic to stop. But they are not Zebra Crossings!
I don't see any reference to this type of crossing in the Highway Code so does anyone actually know the protocol here?
They seem like an accident waiting to happen.
So is the town more popular now?
I have had occasion to be in the Market Square on both Saturday mornings and Saturday afternoons for the past three weeks. Afternoons are dead!
Have any of the local businesses reported up/downturn since the it re-opened for business? I for one would be very interested to hear...
Martin Long
Talking Points -15/05/04
Richard, at last someone else has realised that this forum is to talk about the things that matter to us in Faringdon, perhaps now others may voice an opinion about the " improvements?", and not to sell keep fit classes or trying to flog breakfasts!!.
Come on, use this " talking points" for having a good old moan, or heaven forbid, praise something, its one of the better things in Faringdon.
If you don't, well I will have to keep talking about the horse coral in the market place, actually mentioning that, have a look at the old photos, the ones that show the old cattle and sheep market, and try to spot the difference between then and now.... Jim Horton. ( again)
A Vote for the Market Place -15/05/04
I like our newly refurbished Market Square – it is altogether lighter, cleaner and has a pleasant “open” feel to it.
I am not convinced about the priority system at the narrow part by the Corn Exchange. The line of sight is not as good as it should be, there may have to be some rethinking about this.
Also – are we just to be left with a “bump” by the Corn Exchange, or will it be surfaced to match the “bumps” in London street and beside the chemist.
Julia Burn
Village View of the Market Place- 14/05/04
As someone has already said - nobody seems to like it - as a resident of Longcot I can't get over the lack of common sense that's gone into this new look. No thought for local business - I'll think twice about coming into town when there's not enough parking - either during the day or in the evening.
I also felt it was empty and forlorn when I took back a video the other evening -I also felt different, it's less friendly, just a few onlookers.
How on earth did it get past the planning stage - were there no impressions posted of what it would be like? The bus problem must be a nightmare too.
It seems a real shame - all it needed was a bit of TLC and general brightening and cleaning up with a few more interesting shops and ones that don't shut at lunchtime!
Longcot Resident
Speed Bumps - 12/5/04
If, after years of motorised transport, the centre of Faringdon is now deemed too treacherous to do without speed bumps, could we at least have good ones (like the ones outside the town hall) throughout the town, rather than a mixture of good and, quite frankly, rubbish ones such as those outside the Corn Exchange.
If the work is not yet complete, then I'll be more than happy to eat my words.
Also, I do have to echo some of the points on this forum. I liked the town centre as it was.
It looked nice and old. If I'd wanted to live in Swindon, then I'd have moved there.
Richard Edgington
Stagecoach buses - 12/5/04
Having travelled on the bus to Oxford today - I can confirm that the buses now leave from the Market Place. The driver of the bus on which I returned, however, went up Coxwell Street without going to the Market Place.
When we stranded passengers complained he told us that he hadn't been told by the supervisor about the new arrangements.
I now have a telephone number for Stagecoach, and I subsequently phoned them and explained the above, and my other complaints about myself and other passengers being left behind when the bus leaves early.
I spoke to 'Chris', the travel clerk. I presume she is nothing to do with customer service, should such a concept exist within the Stagecoach organisation.
She said she would pass my comments on, (but failed to ask my name or anything else, so ........?)
I did make the point that Stagecoach seem quite unconcerned with the convenience of their passegers, a comment with which she did not disagree.
The number to ring if you wish to make a comment/complaint to Stagecoach is 01793 521415
Hilary Taylor
A bus in the Market Square - 12/5/04
The good news.
This evening I saw a Stagecoach bus bound for Swindon waiting in the Market Place - so they are back!
The bad news. I saw another one bound for Oxford arrive after the Swindon one.
It could not get round the corner to turn from Cornmarket round the Old Town Hall because there were stationary cars and a lorry waiting to turn into London Street, which was congested with more stationary cars.
This may herald the cessation of the bus service into the Market Place, as there is insufficient turning space for the buses when there are cars waiting at the junction.
(The bus route up London Street has already been axed because illegally parked vehicles make the road too narrow for the buses).
Hilary Taylor
Buses in the Market square - 10/5/04
Hilary, and all other people wishing to catch public transport, you've got it all wrong, you're not supposed to catch buses in faringdon town centre, they make the place look untidy, and they are not colour coordinated with the new tarmac,
So lets get rid of the centre parking for the nasty smelly things, same thing with cars, we can't have them making the centre look too modern, with all that flash metallic paint, and the dreadful car alarms going off whenever someone looks at them.
It would disturb all the visitors, drinking their coffee, sat at the bistro style table sets bought by the local shops to use on the extra wide pavements.
No, the way forward for us Faringdoniuns is to have..................horses, the council have now provided us with a coral where the buses used to park, to keep them in while we shop, and there is a hitching post outside the bank( very frontier town)
Of course the colour of the horses should match the tarmac, that should be easy enough, they used to colour dip the pigeons,horses should be no problem.
Forget the sealed knot, lets have a wild west show.
If you think I'm being stupid, well the planners started it.
As I said Mr Brown, get the old photo's out, I've gone misty eyed again.
Jim Horton
Faringdon Business Breakfast Club - 8/5/04
Would you be interested in a Faringdon Business Breakfast Club?
To provide regular opportunities for local networking, informal seminars, knowledge sharing, or just to meet and chat to other local business people.
To register an interest, please email PortwellBar@aol.com or leave a business card at The Portwell Bar, 26a Market Place (beneath Portwell House Hotel).