Wickford is a great place to live, please don’t spoil it (From Echo)

Wickford is a great place to live, please don’t spoil it

11:40am Thursday 17th November 2011 in Letters

I read in Monday’s Echo that Basildon Council is having talks with several large developers who are interested in buying the car park near the Wickford Co-op.

Where are the people of the town going to park when they shop?

Councillor Malcolm Buckley says if we do nothing we will end up with a dead shopping centre, but has he ever been to Wickford’s main car park on a Friday or Saturday? It is so full, it is difficult to find a space. Even during the week it is crowded.

I would be very sorry to see a multi-storey car park in our town. It would be an eyesore, and it might also encourage antisocial gatherings at night.

The council says bigger shops would bring more prestigious fashion to the town; the existing shops stock very good fashionable reasonably priced clothes. If more clothing retailers came into Wickford our existing shops may lose customers.

The council is also considering allowing flats to be built above the proposed new shops. We have many new flats along the Jubilee way and elsewhere that are still vacant, and new houses still waiting for occupation.

Wickford is a thriving town with people even coming in from Basildon and surrounding areas to shop. There are plenty of places for people to meet and dine out. We do not need more shops. Wickford was once a great market town. What a pity the market has dwindled so much. Could it be the rent for stalls was so high it drove the traders away?

Our high street has recently been repaved and looks very nice. It is a pleasure to walk along it.

The council wants more community facilities, but we already have at least four community centres plus many other clubs and meeting places. There are at least four parks where clubs play football, bowls and cricket. There are also many clubs for young children and mothers with babies. Wickford is a great place to live, please do not spoil it.

Dolly Westgarth
Alicia Avenue
Westcliff