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Posted by: blackdog May 15 2015, 01:18 PM

Okay it's not a lot of building but it is another little bite taken out of the park - WBC are contemplating using compulsory purchase powers to buy a section of Victoria Park from NTC in order to enable the building of their absurd new junction on the A339.

Where are they proposing to replace this public green space?

Posted by: MontyPython May 15 2015, 02:02 PM

Yes they wouldn't take it for a useful scheme like a two-way parkway bridge for all to use - but their pet schemes are OK.

Posted by: Cognosco May 15 2015, 02:50 PM

Come on be fair......a developer needs it to enable him to make more money what is more important than that?

Good job the original Pigeon Loft did not go ahead eh?

Posted by: On the edge May 15 2015, 03:10 PM

Quite so Blackdog! At this rate the only green we'll see in Victoria Park will be the grass sprouting through the paving slabs.

I wonder if they have consulted the leaseholder about this yet? As I recall, the original lease took the legal people an eternity to sort. Oh well, yet more self inflicted legal charges.

Posted by: blackdog May 15 2015, 03:16 PM

As they appear to be considering compulsory purchase I don't see any leaseholder issues - I think the leased bit is along the canal (ie the bit WBC would quite like to develop) whereas the bulk of the park was passed back to Newbury freehold when NTC was created. I may well be wrong (often am) and it could be compulsory purchase of the leasehold interest that they are contemplating.

Posted by: Biker1 May 16 2015, 05:32 AM

I think I have asked this before but, when the new junction / access (which I agree is absurd) is complete, will the current access to the Faraday Road estate in London Road be removed?
If so, which makes sense, at least there will be some gain to traffic flow.

Posted by: user23 May 16 2015, 07:29 AM

I could be wrong, but I thought traffic on the A339 wanting to go east on the A4 will be able to use this junction to connect to London Road, bypassing the Robin Hood roundabout. Is this where the projected 25% or so reduction in traffic on the Robin Hood comes from?

Posted by: MontyPython May 16 2015, 09:24 AM

So are you saying the estate is going to get clogged up with "through traffic"? That will please them and make the units easy to let then!

Posted by: NWNREADER May 16 2015, 10:05 AM

I have floated this question before, but is there a reason the realignment has to involve Victoria Park, and not be taken on the east side of the road instead?

Posted by: On the edge May 16 2015, 10:54 AM

I didn't appreciate that; I had always thought that the whole thing was leased. Thanks for the info.

I'm honestly quite ambivalent about the Faraday Road development; something is needed to properly tidy up this area of the expanding town, but then, 'scruffy commercial areas' are wholly necessary to keep the local economy buoyant. The roads issue is similarly important - the area presently has just one feed into to the districts acknowledged most difficult road hub.

However, as usual round here, there seems to be no joined up strategy plan, no overall vision, no integrated assessment. It's like a jigsaw puzzle being made by different artists individually creating each piece - without knowing what the big picture is supposed to be.

It's made worse, because we have two separate 'authorities' notionally trying to do the same strategic job - NTC and WBC appear to have different and clashing views of the future.

What a mess.

Posted by: blackdog May 16 2015, 11:30 AM

I suspect they will see eye to eye for a while now.

To ensure this WBC could take the radical step of putting a Newbury councillor in charge of the Newbury Vision - rather than the councillor from as far away as possible.