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January 14, 2008
Asda - an opportunity that can be used or squandered
With strong indictations that First Great Western, the Department for Transport, and Wiltshire Council are working together to give us a service that's much closer to what they have identified as "appropriate" later in the year, the new Asda superstore that's proposed to sit right beside the railway, and at a position where railway land is wide enough to build a good platform on former siding land, gives us a golden opportunity to improve the travel interchange AND come up with a good store to the benefit of the community.
Unfortunatley, Asda's initial proposal and planning application seems to have been written on the basis of "let's see how little extra infrastructure we can get away with"; it ignores the railwayalmost totally (it does mention staff travelling to work by train), it provides bus stops on the already overcrowded A350, over which it provides just a flat crossing (lights, more delays), and a walkway right alongside the A350 which will be dengerous if unfenced, and unpleasant if fenced. Traffic surveys were limited - VERY limited - to carefully selected times that don't show the road at its worst, and growth figures used in the forecast which seem to indicate a dramatic drop in travelling in the future, or a lack of belief by Asda in the expansion shown in the Regional Spatial Strategy. Curious, that ... so WHY do they want to build a store if they only see low growth in the next 12 years? It adds up to ""how little can we do .... hoe much can we leave a problem for the county to sort out at their expense?"
Anyway - I still hold that I would WELCOME a store with appropriate access and links, and I am adding my inputs to the District Council file in the next day or two. Please look at My draft submission and let me know of any comments you have on my suggestions
Posted by gje at January 14, 2008 07:22 AM
Comments
Graham, thank you for sending me your draft submission. I very much agree. ASDA's own public engagement work in the town reports frequent requests for bus transport to the store. If you've got bags of shopping, that really does mean the store, not a busy trunk road nearby. This stretch of the A350 is already predictably congested at busy times, both on the southern and western approaches. I have submitted comments to the council myself, which endorse you suggestions for access to the station, and raise the possibility of a Section 106 contribution to a future station re-development. I'll send you a copy. Duncan.
Posted by: Duncan Hames at January 15, 2008 12:30 PM