Why ‘consult’ when cuts already made?
Councillor Jim Harker bemoans the fact people didn’t turn up at the NCC budget consultation meeting last week. This could be down to several factors: we don’t get an attendance allowance, we don’t get sandwiches or travel expenses and we weren’t elected to run the budget.
More probable though is the fact we can’t understand the sheer gall of the man conducting a “consultation” on budget cuts when they have already taken place!
We heard two weeks ago that funding for our advocacy service for people in supported housing (by definition among the most vulnerable in our society) has been arbitrarily withdrawn, with no hint of consultation.
Our work also assisted with the Prevention Strategy, helping people to sort out their problems before they became a more expensive drain on county council coffers. We are attending a “consultation” meeting on this very strategy today . . . again, two weeks after the service is cut!
What for then, consultation? Why would we turn out on a cold winter’s night, Jim?
Ron Johnson,
Manager, Experts By Experience (ExByEx),
St James Road, Northampton.
There is market for arty films
I agree with everything Len Hough (ViewPoint, January 23) said about the non-showing of The Artist here at the mainstream cinemas. Of course it will be shown at the Lings in February but for a film to have 12 Bafta and 10 Oscar nominations it’s nothing short of scandalous.
There is a market here for more ‘arty’ films as the Lings is packed on many occasions and it’s nice to support them, but it would be great if the multiplexes could cater for everyone’s tastes and not just the youth market who only want to see the latest blockbusters.
Personally my friends and I much prefer Vue, the seats are so much more comfortable than at Cineworld, but there always seems so few people there.
If the management of Vue had any sense they might try a few art films and lower the prices slightly and see if that brings in more customers, then maybe Cineworld would follow suit. We film fans can only hope!
Susan Timms,
West Street, Moulton.
Editor’s footnote: Since this letter was written Cineworld has decided to show The Artist.
Cons outweigh the pros of move
Like many other readers I have debated the pros and cons of the proposed site for a new bus station for Northampton and keep coming back to the same conclusion: the current building definitely needs a makeover but would still be better than the proposal for the following reasons:
The proposed site is far too small to cope with buses and passengers, open bays are dreadful in bad weather (I’ve experienced these elsewhere), the covered area for waiting is also too small to cope with numbers.
The split site of 12 bus bays in the station and seven bays in the Drapery is a bad idea, confusing to newcomers to the area and for locals to help them find the bus they want.
A split site is also bad for changing buses for the disabled or older people; there are also likely to be more accidents or problems if people have to get quickly from one site to another to get their connections.
Advantages of updating current building: It provides easy access to top, middle and lower ends of Abington Street, the town’s main thoroughfare, but it needs wooden seats to be stripped and resealed (or replaced with more modern seating), similarly access doors to buses, ceilings painted white or any pale colour, lighting upgraded, escalators need replacing and upgrading, cafe needs modernising and made more visible from the Grosvenor Centre, access from the centre also needs upgrading as do the toilets.
Lighting in the existing waiting area might be helped if the outer walls covering the bus bays were broken up with the addition of upright glass panels along their length.
The cost of updating the existing site would certainly be less than demolishing and rebuilding and cause far less disruption to services.
Miriam Solomon,
Lynmouth Avenue, Abington Vale, Northampton.
Bus scheme is a shambles
AS a lifelong Labour voter, I am angry with local Labour leader Lee Mason for her lavish praise for the scheme that will see many local bus users waiting for their bus in all weathers, after over 75 years of covered bus stations.
Does “New Labour” no longer care about people?
Sadly, she has fallen totally for the smug Tory propaganda which says Greyfriars is a “terrible place” and “not fit for purpose” (what nonsense!) and the new place will be much better.
Try telling that to people who have to wait in The Drapery.
I note the number of stops to be placed there has mysteriously gone up from four to seven. Clearly someone told our lords and masters that a total of 16 stops or bays (including the Fish Market) would not be enough . . . but neither will 19!
Have our councillors ever stood in the bus station to see what goes on?
Have they seen three express coaches pull in just after 8am each day? Have they seen two bays on routes 5 and 52, or 7 and 8, trying to access the same bay at the same time? Have they seen routes 1 and 16 each need two bays because of the sheer volume of buses?
As there will not be an inch of spare space at the Fish Market where are buses going to park up, awaiting their turn?
Will they park all round the Market Square? Or perhaps they will block Bradshaw Street or Sheep Street, as there is nowhere else they can go.
Councillor Mason, this scheme is an unfair shambles. Shame on you for backing it.
David Johnson,
Druids Way, Northampton.
Listen to users
HOW many more times does it have to be said? The bus station is in exactly the right place. Also close to shops, market, supermarket for those who don’t have a car and in the dry.
Just a facelift is needed. Have a look at Leicester Bus Station, councillors, and please listen to its users, the public and bus drivers.
And by the way, it might be interesting to know how many of the councillors who voted for the demolition of the bus station actually travel on public transport.
Pam Hayes,
The Headlands, Northampton.
No library of big band music?
WITH reference to John Hale’s interesting letter (ViewPoint, January 18). I have been a regular listener to Paul Barnes for nearly 20 years. The Late Paul Barnes Show on BBC Radio Northampton every Saturday 11pm-1am.
The entire show is networked from BBC Radio Norwich to seven BBC radio stations and all the numbers played are from Paul’s own huge collection.
Radio 3 Jazz Requests every Saturday at 5pm has been going for years. There are two other shows on BBC Radio 2 which I never miss, Claire Teal’s excellent Big Band Swing programme at 10pm every Sunday followed by David Jacobs lovely easy listening programme until midnight then on Monday at 9.30pm on Radio 2 it is the magnificent BBC Big Band.
The point I wished to make in my original letter was our very own local BBC Radio Northampton does absolutely nothing on its own for jazz and big band enthusiasts. We are completely ignored, apart from the odd hour of numbers which have been done to death over the years and are played at holiday times (please don’t mention Guy Lombardo or Glenn Miller).
Doesn’t Radio Northampton possess a library of jazz and big band music? I guess not as friend Peter Moreton used to bring in records from his own collection . . . he even borrowed one or two from my collection.
As my dear friend the late Eric Lawe used to say “What do they contribute personally to good music”?
Peter Green,
Clarke Road, Northampton.
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Woman’s body found after ‘suicide’ in Northampton hotel room
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Exclusive: PM David Cameron says Northamptonshire Police Commissioner role is “a big job for a big local figure”
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.