Traffic chaos

I REFER to an article in a recent Cotswold Journal about the traffic chaos in Winchcombe.

At last the public and the council are getting really worried about the amount of traffic, particularly huge lorries passing through the town.

The recent pathetic ‘improvements’ have done nothing to relieve the situation.

The chicanes have only worsened the traffic flow, and the crossing places with dropped curbs and a light coloured tarmac have caused confusion and some near accidents, as the public consider they have right of way, as they would have with a Belisha crossing.

It has been an enormous expense achieving absolutely nothing. Who on earth suggest it and approved it?

The road through the town was changed from an A road to a B, acknowledging that the through road was not suitable for heavy traffic.

Cllr Petchey’s suggestion of a traffic survey is to be welcomed, but it would be sensible to carry out the survey at both ends of the town and compare the results to see how many lorries are only passing through and which are delivering in the town.

Many large lorries also use North Street and the worst troubles occur at the junction into the High Street. This too should be included in the survey if it is to be accurate.

The result of the survey will, one hopes, result in a weight restriction being put on the road through the town, but it will have to be enforced and who will do this? New sat-navs will indicate that this is not a suitable route, but how long will it take to improve a worsening situation.

The proposals may slightly alleviate Winchcombe traffic problems, but we should be looking for a long term positive solution. We need a bypass if we are to save our historic town from ruin.

A great opportunity was missed when all the developments to the north where allowed.

They could have accommodated a through road as part of the developments, partially paid for by the developers. The only alternative route now available is to the south of the town. Granted it will have to pass through an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), but it will be worth it to save Winchcombe.

In demoting the status of the through road, the government has made it impossible for a bypass to be financed from national funds.

It must be made to realise the problems it has caused and its responsibility to rectify the situation.

Martin Podd Winchcombe

Doing their job

THINK I have just read probably the most stupid letter in the history of letter writing.

Is Peter Brotheridge for real (Letters, September 3)?

All the police are doing, Mr Brotheridge, is enforcing the law of the land, not their own rules.

The bottom line is the idiots caught speeding were breaking the law, the speed limits are clearly marked and all the police were doing was the job they are paid to do.

I cannot count the amount of times I’ve rounded a bend and had to brake sharply at an obstruction or worse, an accident. If I had been speeding (breaking the law) my stopping distance would have been far less.

If you need the urge to drive your vehicle fast, Mr Brotheridge, why don’t you find a deserted airfield and speed to your heart’s content.

Why put other motorists, cyclists or pedestrians in danger just because of your desire to get to your destination a few seconds earlier.

Peter Green Evesham

Cornish lesson

HAVING recently returned from a two-week holiday in Cornwall, reputedly the poorest county in England, two things struck me.

Firstly, how are towns such as Lostwithiel able to offer free parking (on and off-road) everywhere on a 24/7 basis (by the way, it was heaving with visitors)?

And secondly, why were the vast majority of the local and main roads in a far better state of repair than ours, with the consequent free flow of traffic (they didn’t seem to have heard of stone-chip dressing)?  What do their council leaders know that ours don’t?  Could it be that Cornwall County Council has a better or more efficient management structure and team than Worcestershire County Council? Could it be that the council exists to serve residents and visitors, rather than the other way around?

 And by the way, why will Wychavon District Council not tell me how they spend their vast profits (some £1.6m in 2014/5) from car parks in Evesham, Droitwich, Pershore and Broadway despite written requests?

Richard Sims Charlton

Too expensive

WE used to have free large-rubbish collections available on request.

Then it changed to mass collections twice a year.   Now they want £19 for a collection of a certain size.

On a fixed income this could be a big slice of the pie, and there are no concessions.

Then there is the distance away from Evesham to the refuse centre.

If they were to go back to the old system I am sure it would be cheaper.

Either that or put a large skip in a central car park where people could leave things. There are already bottle banks, clothing banks etc, so why not one for anything else?

No one likes to see  stuff dumped, but the council have made the situation worse by demanding payment.

I speak as a person living on a pension, so do not have money to throw away.

Pauline  Jones Evesham  

Stop the tipping

WYCHAVON District Council spends more than £24,000 on cleaning up after fly-tipping (Journal, September 3).

It was obvious to everyone, or should have been, that when you restrict the use of the tip, people will fly-tip.

The question is: why pay to tip when you can dump your rubbish and someone comes and clears it up?

Perhaps it is time that someone looks at those figures and add on costs like the management, the salary and running costs of Councillor Emma Stokes and her office and add those fixed amounts to the £24,000 and put all that into practical use.

It should enable more people to be employed at the tip, which would reduce cost of tipping.

Anyway it would be better than throwing more money at a never-decreasing problem.

Clive Shackleton Bretforton

Sad sell-off

The answer to Brian Tomkins’s question: “What are planners thinking about” regarding houses in Badsey (Letters, September 3) is simple.

It’s all about the here and now. Quick growth, developers support firmly delivered to meet the needs of Westminster’s global economic plan.

Residents’ needs and a future dominated by changing climatic conditions creating new energy demands are playing second fiddle to these unsustainable policies.

To cap it all our “cash-strapped” representatives in Westminster are happy to spend up to £80,000 of our taxes, per house, selling off the fruits of the enlightened work of our pioneering local housing project. Rooftop Housing, a charitable association, has for years been planning locally for the future with houses fit for the future.

A re-invigorated right to buy not available in the private renting sector will force them to launch our houses into the maelstrom of an inflationary, housing free-for-all. These houses were especially crafted for local needs and could easily be lost for community use, at our expense.

The reality sadly, is short-sighted centralism masquerading as localism.

Michael T Parker Sedgeberrow

Loos shortage

WE (and our dog) once again enjoyed a wonderful day at the Moreton Show, despite the short downpour.

It is wonderfully organised and a really great day out for all the family.

However, as able bodied people, we have one complaint that we feel very strongly about.

In our view there should be a disabled toilet at every toilet block area. We understand there are only two on the whole showground – why is that the case?

We saw several disabled people in difficulty. One chap had to carry his teenage son out of his wheelchair and up the steps into a male toilet.

Another lady in a wheelchair had to struggle up the steps with a stick.

We overheard another lady saying to her husband that she wouldn’t be able to cope with the steps.

With the benefit of medical science we are all living longer and therefore more of us may end up one day in wheelchairs or on mobility scooters and we think it is crucial that more facilities are provided on such an occasion.

We would be prepared to pay more to enter the show should additional facilities be provided for the disabled.

Linda and Roy Garwood Lower Quinton