HOORAY, here’s some good news for a change.
Wiltshire Council is now in a position to “deliver on the first phase” of the river park which will kickstart the regeneration of the Central Car Park and Maltings.
Improvements to the Avon corridor will significantly lessen the risk of flooding, creating the right environment for progress on other redevelopment projects around it.
This will also be great for wildlife, with ‘naturalised’ riverbanks encouraging biodiversity and helping our fishy population as well as creating a prettier route into town for residents and visitors alike. What’s not to like?
On Tuesday (Nov. 3) the council’s leaders are expected to launch a seven-week public consultation on their river park masterplan, in conjunction with the Environment Agency.
This will largely have to be conducted online because of Covid, although displays in empty shop windows are being considered.
The council’s cabinet is also being asked to pass on grant aid of about £6million to the Agency towards the project. The money has a ‘use it or lose it’ March deadline.
Work on the project will mean changes to parking arrangements.
A site compound will occupy the coach park, so coaches are likely to be directed onto the central car park temporarily.
Making room for them will mean a temporary loss of 347 long-stay car spaces – just over a third of the total.
When the work is completed there will still be 154 fewer long-stay spaces than at present, but according to the council only 29 per cent of the available spaces are occupied on average anyway.
Short stay spaces, disabled parking and the Maltings car park will be unaffected.
Well, this does sound like progress at last, and it’s to be hoped everything goes according to plan.
With traditional retail in decline, Salisbury ought to be promoting itself to tourists as the ‘Green City’, because we do still have so much lovely greenery here, and this will surely help.
Which doesn't mean I think those wretched bike lanes are the right answer!
No comments:
Post a Comment