Page 8 - link magazine

8 swindonlink.com • April 2010
Lucky escape triggers renewed road safety campaign

Blunsdon parents’ long-standing concerns about the safety of the Broadbush section of the B4019 were heightened when a six-year-old girl
from Abbey Meads was involved in an accident at the dangerous bend in front of Holdcroft House, writes Juliet Platt.
Ella Claxton-Fry, a pupil at St An- to 30mph fi ve years ago, Council for the past couple of years
drew’s Primary School, Blunsdon said, “the pavement and about realigning the footpath but
was on a trial cycle run to school road are both very nar- so far we have received no posi-
with her father when she fell into the row at that bend, and tive response due to lack of funds.
road at the entrance to Sutton Park there is a tree on the path However we have written again to
recreation ground. She sustained with roots that slope into the council in light of Ella’s accident,
injuries to her hand and damage the road, so it makes get- so we hope that this will provide
to her cycle helmet. ting past very tricky.” some urgency.”
“If she wasn’t wearing her helmet Stuart Boyd, chairman The school recently installed a
I don’t think she would have made of Blunsdon Parish Coun- new cycle rack and children are ex-
it,” said Ella’s mum Carol Fry. cil said, “we’ve been talk- cited about getting to school on their
Jo Compton, a Blunsdon parent ing to Swindon Borough bikes. But Carol Fry said, “there’s
who headed up the campaign to Ella with the helmet that no way I’m going to let Ella do that
reduce the Broadbush speed limit saved her life now. The road is too dangerous.”

Moving Swindon forward
The drawn out process of renewing Swindon town centre is about to take two important steps with the long delayed demolition of the old
college at Regent Circus and a new chief executive of the company responsible for regeneration about to be appointed.
Coun Phil Young, who will soon retire from the post of cabinet member On 1 April The New Swindon Company will be replaced by Forward
for regeneration, admitted cautious optimism that there is movement on Swindon which will take on a broader economic development and re-
the college site. “The developers have had a fi nal design meeting and generation role for the whole town.
are hoping to submit a detailed planning application soon. We have had In the March Link coun Young said, “one of the things we haven’t
several false starts on this development but done particularly well in the past is manage
I am hopeful we might see some movement people’s expectations of the regeneration
there in the near future.” process. It takes a long time and the recession
Plans have yet to be revealed but are un- has been a set back. The ground work has
derstood to be a repackaging of the proposal been done, we’ve got the vision in place and
put forward before the recession forced a while it’s unrealistic to expect new buildings
rethink. These include a shopping com- to be springing up immediately, certainly
plex, bars, restaurants and a seven-screen over the next three years depending on
multiplex cinema, and some residential the fi nancial climate, we need to focus on
accommodation. An illustration of the original Regent Place scheme delivering it.”

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