Page 5 - link magazine

See us on the net @ www.swindonlink.com The Link Magazine • November 1999 5
Swindon puts the heat on graffiti merchants
Vandals who spray paint council property will not see their work on display for long, thanks to a £12,000
investment by Swindon waste management department in a diesel powered high pressure steam
cleaning machine.
p
And, for the first time, the cou - ' *° f He said the council is only re-
cil is going to offer a graffiti re „, '^ sponsibleforkeepingitsownprop-
moval service to private house- , erty clean, but waste management
holders and other service organi- cannow takeonprivate jobs. "Graf-
sations like the electricity compa iti vandalism is often too small for
nies. an insurance claim, but too big for
Geoff Davies from waste man DIY; or the resident might not be
agement said graffi ti remover Ray K , ? able to tackle the problem. We are
Mills, right, will be able to tackle „E now in position to offer a graffiti
vandalism much more effec tively. removal service."
"Until now Ray has had to use - To arrange a quote, call Waste
chemicals and a scrubbing brush. Management on 466077 or e-mail:
The paint will still need chemical [email protected]
treatment, but the steam cleaning
jet will quickly strip off graffiti."
Letters to The Link IMPORTANT DECISIONS REQUIRE
Who cares about graffiti? From GD, Westlea PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Following yet another a rticle in The police, so (hopefully) they can at
Link (October) about graffiti van- least be punished by having to Buying, selling or remortgaging? t •-',
dalism, this time again at the clean off at least some of the dam- We give an efficient fully computerised service
Toothill Village Centre, and the age they have caused.
further spread of such damage Could a local business not spon- and keep you informed throughout the process
asound the whole of West Swin- sor a small reward to 'help' anyone Telephone now for a quote:
don, surely somebody must know with any information to come for- O
who these people are! ward? Or do the people of West CARTER.1"VEAD & DOVE
Parents, relatives, friends, or Swindon just not care?
neighbours must recognise these Can the Police tell us whether
'tags' of at least the most prolific anyone is ever charged with such S 0 L I C i T O R S
vandals, such as 'Killer' 'DSA', damage? Commerce House, 34/35 Commercial Road, Swindon
'Acid' and 'Doper' which have re- And can Swindon Council not do
cently appeared on virtjally every more to clean up such damage to Tel: (01793) 617617 Fa ^J 01793) 511249
street road-sign, underpass and discourage others from thinking
park. they can get away with it? What do
These people should come for- other people in West Swindon
ward and report the culprits to the think?

Swindon as a city
Will it be a dinosaur or a prophet asks Gina Dennis?
If Swindon is granted city sta- If Swindon's vision is rooted in
tus, where is its vision of a truly the past, then it could be aspiring
millennial city? to dinosaur status. It has the po- YOUR
The 'modern' city was shaped tential, however, to be a prophet of
by the transport capabilities and a new era. It has a track record of LOCAL GARAGE DOOR
industrial patterns of the past. 'adapting to ever changing envi-
Following the Industrial Revolu- ronments' according to Swindon
tion, the movement of goods, by Council leader Sue Bates.
railway and canal, was cheap. But I believe it does have the capa-
transporting people was difficult bilitytobecomea communications
and expensive. Large numbers of hub serving a much larger area,
workers needed to be housed close with a highly sophisticated elec-
to their place of work. tronic infrastructure. The plans
True, the rise of the car has led for Swindon's University as a learn-
us from urbanisation to suburban ing centre that makes use of mod-
living. But many of the images we ern communications technology
retain of cities are based on an and responds to the needs of both
increasingly obsolete structure. its learners and the business com-
Recent decades have seen a move- munity fit well into this model.
ment away from the old cities. City status need not equate with
Electronics and communications expansionism.
are empowering the individual, What it must bring is a commit-
making this urban exodus possi- ment to present technology and
ble. The link between a person's future vision. Among the issues
place of work and his or her home will be high-tech, eco-friendly,
is increasingly being broken. rapid access transport systems and
In Megat rends 2000, John Naisbitt excellence as a cultural, social and
and Patricia Aburdene state that, educational resource.
'in the year 2000, the truly global A longer version of this article is
cities will not be the largest; they available as part of the city status Maxwell House • Maxwell Street • Swindon
will be the 'smartest'.' debate at www.swindonlink.com .