'Spend money now on town centre,' council is urged (From The Oxford Times)
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'Spend money now on town centre,' council is urged
6:20pm Saturday 16th February 2013 in News
A NEW supermarket for Didcot’s Great Western Park estate will damage trade in the town centre, a leading councillor has warned.
Town council leader Margaret Davies said council bosses should spend £250,000 now on improving Broadway because a new supermarket on the 3,300-home Great Western Park estate will draw shoppers away from the town centre.
As part of South Oxfordshire District Council’s 2013/2014 budget, the money will be spent in Broadway on shop fronts, seating, lighting, wi-fi in the town centre, bins, signs, public toilets and car parks.
Initially there were plans for a convenience store at Great Western Park, but planning consultants RPS have now submitted an application to Vale of White Horse District Council, on behalf of developers Taylor Wimpey, for a supermarket.
The gross internal area of the new store in Didcot Road, Harwell, will cover 2,375 sq m, while the sales area will cover 1,544 sq m.
With the sales area for Tesco in Didcot at 2,242 sq m, and for Abingdon Waitrose 2,457 sq m, Mrs Davies said: “The new supermarket will hurt trade in Didcot town centre.
“It is a strategic threat to the town centre and shops in Broadway.
“A new supermarket at Great Western Park will suck the goodness out of the Orchard Centre and rob Broadway of shoppers.
“If SODC is going to invest in Broadway it should spend the money right away.”
RPS insists there will be no impact on the town centre.
Comments(9)
Jwr
says...
9:55pm Sun 17 Feb 13
Broadway itself needs to be knocked down and rejuvenated. Turn Broadway's pub into a family pub/restaurant keeping its fantastic architecture but removing its current owners and encouraging the family market back into the centre, the heart of Didcot where it belongs.
Ellie the Bruce
says...
1:04pm Mon 18 Feb 13
But I was under the impression that the main link road to the A34 interchange would be upgraded as part of the agreement to start building on GWP. Putting in traffic lights to help people get off GWP does not constitute an upgrade in my view.
Maybe any money would be better spent on sorting out the internal road links getting in/out Didcot.
livid99
says...
1:22pm Mon 18 Feb 13
Jwr wrote:Exactly. Its crazy that, as the main road into Didcot, people often have to crawl along behind a convoy of articulated lorries with no opportunity to get past. If things are not changed, we will end up with a situation like Bicester Village, where the tailbacks just cause gridlock. Any incident at the Milton interchange or on the A34 just brings this road to a stop straightaway. This is mad for a growing town like Didcot.
While I agree with livid99, I have to say,I do not agree with the fact that a supermarket on the GWP development will deter shoppers from the orchard centre. GWP are cut off,they need a convenience store to walk to. However the Orchard centre will still attract people with their range of clothes stores,restaurants and cinema. Not to mention the arts centre.
Broadway itself needs to be knocked down and rejuvenated. Turn Broadway's pub into a family pub/restaurant keeping its fantastic architecture but removing its current owners and encouraging the family market back into the centre, the heart of Didcot where it belongs.
King Joke
says...
6:56pm Mon 18 Feb 13
livid99
says...
7:36am Tue 19 Feb 13
King Joke wrote:So if the speed limit is 60mph, and lorries do 56mph, why do so many of them drive along this road at no more than 40mph, when they can clearly see a long queue behind them ?
Lorries do 56 mph, and the speed limit on a single-carriageway road is 60 mph. Exactly what is the economic damage being done by cars being forced to go 4 mph slower?
hesperus
says...
5:44pm Tue 19 Feb 13
Adrian1
says...
12:26pm Wed 20 Feb 13
Regards road improvements, I brought this up at a meeting years ago, asking when the link was to be made dual carriageway? The improvements are apparently the traffic lights and junction alterations from some years back at the Milton interchange. And we're still only on early building of new properties. Glad I know a lot of 'rat runs'.
King Joke
says...
12:42pm Wed 20 Feb 13
The traffic on the road is moving, so the road is not congested.
Dualling the road at the cost of millions, therefore, would save motorists a minute each, and save the lorries (who are actually doing work to contribute to the economy) nothing. It would add no capacity to the overall road network, as this is constrained by the capacity of the junctions at either end of the road.
Basically there is no economic case to dual this road, yet people are demanding the state put its hand in its pocket to do so, because they don't like driving behind lorries. How self-centred can you get? Tough, get used to it.
livid99 says...
9:46pm Sun 17 Feb 13
If they have money to spend, then spend it on adding a lorry lane to the link road between Milton interchange and Didcot, or upgrading it to a dual carriageway. Apparently Didcot is becoming a decent town in a science enterprise zone with excellent transport links, but you can only get to it slowly from the A34 because of the number of lorries driving along the link road at 30mph !!!!