7:00am Friday 27th March 2009
By Scott McPherson
Chippenham Town Council leader Andrew Noblet has attacked the town’s tatty shopfronts, lack of entertainment and poor planning in a report on how it needs to change.
In the report, called Chippenham’s Future – Reflections On What Might Be, Coun Noblet criticises the town centre.
The High Street is now lined with empty shops, the biggest of which is the former Woolworths store.
He says: “The town has a centre in need of radical renovation. All in all the town gives the perspective of being run down and increasingly shows signs of the underfunding in recent years.
“There are those who pine for the days of the market town and yet the market struggles to survive. The need to capitalise on the river has been a dream for years.
“In reality it is a town of banks, building societies, charity shops, pubs and a few cafes and restaurants and many frontages which are a disgrace. Because future planning lies mainly in the hands of the private sector, such developments perforce will be piecemeal, making development of the whole town problematic.
“It is our town. We need to make it into a town we are proud to call Chippenham.”
Coun Noblet says the priority needs to be access into and out of the town. He calls for heavy goods vehicles to be excluded from town centre roads and made to use the by-pass instead.
He lists the town’s top ten priorities which include, having events for all ages in the town, upgrading the weekly market, riverside development, build a BMX track, fishing lake and skateboard park and improve the town’s parks.
Chippenham Chamber of Commerce president Adrian Whitbread said: “I have not seen the report myself but anything that brings attention to what needs to be improved can only be a good thing.” He said improvements to the town centre are well under way.
“The Chippenham and Village Area Partnership New Chapter has already set up a number of working groups to look at making improvements to the town and these are well under pay.
“We all know the town centre needs seriously looking at and that is what the New Chapter is looking at.
“By working in partnership we can make the improvements we all want for the town centre,” he said Coun Noblet compiled the report to show what progress the town council is making and what steps it needs to take to improve the town for future generations.
The report has been submitted to the town council to be considered at a full town council meeting yesterday.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/trade_directory/