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 BrianB |
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Judging by the comments raised on various topics over the last few weeks, it appears that not many are familiar with the proposal for an Urban Village. Perhaps you should take a look at the following PDF document and then come back to the forum with your comments. http://www.westberks.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3717&p=0 |
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| 78 |
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It will blend well with Parkway & the Cinema. |
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| richard.garvie |
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Brian:
My view remains the same. We should be encouraging footfall in Cheap Street and protecting existing retailers. I'll come up with a design for my idea and send it over to you so that we can have a comparison. |
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| Greenham Common |
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| user23.3 |
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Brian:
My view remains the same. We should be encouraging footfall in Cheap Street and protecting existing retailers. I'll come up with a design for my idea and send it over to you so that we can have a comparison.
I thought your view was that more affordable housing should be built? |
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| jay |
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NWN today quotes Graham Jones 'The Council is not moving its offices to Greenham Park .... two main sites - West Street House and Market Street'. |
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| richard.garvie |
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I thought your view was that more affordable housing should be built?
Yes, but not on that site. I would use this area of town to do something to regenerate the southern end of town to try and inject a bit of life into it to help the small and independent retailers. I'd much rather protect affordable housing allocations withing proposed residential developments like the racecourse and sandleford. |
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| user23.3 |
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Yes, but not on that site. I would use this area of town to do something to regenerate the southern end of town to try and inject a bit of life into it to help the small and independent retailers. I'd much rather protect affordable housing allocations withing proposed residential developments like the racecourse and sandleford.
Wouldn't having a load of new potential customers on their doorstep help small and independent retailers? |
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| Nobby |
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It appears that once again WBC don't care what people want they will build on the site anyway. |
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| 78 |
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Brian:
My view remains the same. We should be encouraging footfall in Cheap Street and protecting existing retailers. I'll come up with a design for my idea and send it over to you so that we can have a comparison.
Indie retailers? In Cheap St? Both of them? |
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| blackdog |
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... take a look at the following PDF document and then come back to the forum with your comments.
I have posted about this plan in the past - noting that most people seem totally unaware that another large building site will cover another chunk of the town in the neat future. All we have seen to date are documents like the Vision 2025 and the Design Brief you linked to. When we finally see some design proposals I fear it will be another case of overdevelopment - 5, 6 or more stories of bland blocks of flats made to look smaller in the artist's impressions. There is talk of more houses fewer flats - but that doesn't sound so profitable to me - so I suspect it will be quietly forgotten. RG is right to note that Cheap St will by bypassed by the proposed new route into town - but this new 'gateway' underpins the whole thinking behind this bit of the Vision. The Visioneers won't let the fate of a few small businesses put them off track. I was surprised to note how few listed buildings there are in the southern part of Cheap St - I wonder when a developer will be eyeing up that area for demolition? A big problem with the whole scheme is that the wonderful new gateway will just deliver folk to the huge blank face of the Kennet Centre / Cinema. |
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| Greenham Common |
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All we have seen to date are documents like the Vision 2025 and the Design Brief you linked to. When we finally see some design proposals I fear it will be another case of overdevelopment - 5, 6 or more stories of bland blocks of flats made to look smaller in the artist's impressions.
Notwithstanding a last minute approval for a massive department store slapped right in the middle of any concession to public space. |
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| brian |
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Perhaps you should take a look at the following PDF document and then come back to the forum with your comments. http://www.westberks.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3717&p=0
I have seen that before and I wondered at the time how much that had cost the council for the laziest piece of consultancy work I have ever seen. Cobble together a few ideas which no doubt they have picked up from the visionaries, add in the same old environmental paragraphs, a bit about cycling and pedestrian walkways and just to make it colourful a couple of overwritten maps, some vision sketches and some pictures of cut outs from other towns. They could have probably done better by offering it as a project to St Bart's or Park House. |
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| Cognosco |
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I have seen that before and I wondered at the time how much that had cost the council for the laziest piece of consultancy work I have ever seen. Cobble together a few ideas which no doubt they have picked up from the visionaries, add in the same old environmental paragraphs, a bit about cycling and pedestrian walkways and just to make it colourful a couple of overwritten maps, some vision sketches and some pictures of cut outs from other towns.
They could have probably done better by offering it as a project to St Bart's or Park House.
They would have more expertees than the council are used to! Anyway they would probably have made some sensible suggestions that the local clique were unable to make any profit from so no good I am afraid?  |
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| 78 |
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Come on which is it - Council or developmers in charge? Can't be both..... |
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| Greenham Common |
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Quoted from 78
Come on which is it - Council or developmers in charge? Can't be both.....
Heard of the term partnership...or a 'quid pro quo'? |
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| old codger |
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Heard of the term partnership...or a 'quid pro quo'?
Yeah, like they let Standard Life screw them and the forthcoming fiasco over the racecourse developers building a bridge............... |
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| richard.garvie |
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Quoted from 78
Come on which is it - Council or developmers in charge? Can't be both.....
The council set the policy, then allow themselves to be held to ransom / put over a barrell... |
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| user23.3 |
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The council set the policy, then allow themselves to be held to ransom / put over a barrell...
How do you work that one out? |
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| richard.garvie |
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How do you work that one out?
Parkway. Racecourse. Kennet Heath. Set policy: The council decide where the housing developments will go. Being held over a barrel by developers: In the three developments above, have the council had to make numerous sacrifices so that the developments went ahead? (Obv the Racecourse has yet to start, but already the affordable housing has gone from 35% to 30%, and possibly down to 26% in a few weeks time) |
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| blackdog |
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Parkway. Racecourse. Kennet Heath.
Set policy: The council decide where the housing developments will go.
Being held over a barrel by developers: In the three developments above, have the council had to make numerous sacrifices so that the developments went ahead? (Obv the Racecourse has yet to start, but already the affordable housing has gone from 35% to 30%, and possibly down to 26% in a few weeks time)
The council didn't decide that houses should be built on the racecourse - they were against it to start with. Then came the 10,500 target and the racecourse's plans for 1500 was irresistable. |
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| richard.garvie |
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The council didn't decide that houses should be built on the racecourse - they were against it to start with. Then came the 10,500 target and the racecourse's plans for 1500 was irresistable.
But during the strategic housing allocation, the council selected the Racecourse site over other potential sites. My point is more that they chose the site then allowed the developers to put them over a barrel like the other sites. Unless the attitude at the council changes, we will see the same happen at Sandleford. |
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| Muddler |
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Quoted from 78
Come on which is it - Council or developmers in charge? Can't be both.....
It can be. WBC appointed Grainger Trust in 2006 to develop this site. Grainger have plans for 331 flats and 47,000 sq ft of retail and are pretty much ready to go. But I seem to remember that WBC wanted the cinema and Park Way to finish before warming this up. |
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| 78 |
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It can be. WBC appointed Grainger Trust in 2006 to develop this site. Grainger have plans for 331 flats and 47,000 sq ft of retail and are pretty much ready to go.
But I seem to remember that WBC wanted the cinema and Park Way to finish before warming this up.
I was being sarcastic. Cosnosgos or whatever they are called blames everything on the council. Even to the point of contradicting themself. |
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| Nobby |
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Quoted from 78
I was being sarcastic. Cosnosgos or whatever they are called blames everything on the council. Even to the point of contradicting themself.
Well in this instance and many others they appear to be fanning the flames at the very least! |
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| richard.garvie |
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Well in this instance and many others they appear to be fanning the flames at the very least!
Some people come on here to rabble rouse. I genuinely come on here and write what I think. I know sometimes people don't agree with me or like what I say, but at least I have a go. When I object to something, I do try to suggest an alternative solution too, rather than throwing the toys out of the pram. |
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| Nobby |
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Some people come on here to rabble rouse. I genuinely come on here and write what I think. I know sometimes people don't agree with me or like what I say, but at least I have a go. When I object to something, I do try to suggest an alternative solution too, rather than throwing the toys out of the pram.
The fanning the flames was referring to WBC and the developments - not your comments! |
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