I WAS present at the Bridge Centre consultation event at Chippenham Town Hall and left with the impression that the event was in reality a box-ticking exercise.
Having lived and worked in Chippenham for 37 years, I really love it as great place to live.
Our leaders are trying to play the best hand with the cards they have, but it seems that disappointment from attracting a buyer for the Bridge Centre has wrong-footed them.
True, another car park may sound a safe idea, but spending £1million on clearing the site seems a high price for a gamble on getting the master plan back on track.
Trying out a park and ride scheme over the Christmas period may test the waters for future parking options.
Converting the gyratory traffic system round the Bridge Centre to a straightforward four-way roundabout (with two-way traffic in Ivy Lane) would reunite the Bridge Centre site with Bath Road car park, providing critical mass as a single pedestrian concourse. This would surely yield a better range of future options.
I feel that the in pursuing the long-term quest for attracting more visitors to Chippenham, the councillors should think a bit more blue sky, rather than keeping to what worked in the previous century. Perhaps take a masterclass at the local garden centre, which has really cracked the modern principles of mixing amenity with merchandising to give a tremendous feel-good experience.
RAY MOBLEY, Chippenham
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