DISTRICT NEWS

I’LL START with the good news. John Tomlinson, our new Corporate Director for Neighbourhood South, has found some money in an underspent Council budget, which will be used to drain and resurface the car park at St. Peter’s.

I have used part of my £10,000 ward budget for 2002/3 to drain the school pitch. The rest will be used for a pavement build-out in front of St. Peter’s Terrace, to make that corner safer for pedestrians. (I am told that some drivers are still going up the one-way street, and I have asked the Police to keep an eye out for them.) I am also hoping that funds will cover putting a railing along the very steep bit of pavement just west of the Richmond Arms, which is a menace in winter.

People living near the bottle bank ask those using it to be reasonable about the time that they come. Residents do not appreciate the noise of crashing glass late in the evening, when they are trying to sleep!

Residents who asked for some control over the traffic on Malcolm Road will have been pleased to see the Police there with a radar gun recently. Like all those at the eastern end of the village, I am concerned about the failure of a few motorists to give way at the zebra crossing at Coronation Road . I have asked the Council to re-paint the stripes, which are getting worn.

Sorry if this seems to be all anti-motorist. I am one myself, of course, and fully sympathise with their concerns too. If or when we get the Western Peripheral Route , it will improve access to the north and we can then campaign for a weight limit on Malcolm Road , which I have already suggested to the Council.

Here’s hoping for a lovely summer! The spring has certainly excelled itself.

PAM MACDONALD

Editor: Pedestrians, too, need to play their part at the Zebra Crossing. There have been reports of people walking straight onto the Crossing without any indication they are going to cross the road. Vehicles require some time to pull up and stop! Perhaps a clear hand/arm signal before stepping onto the crossing would help?