The neglect of Marlborough

The storm over the disruption caused by the Pewsey

road bridge in Marlborough only serves to underline the lack of commercial

sense that is inherent within so many of our councils.

No one can deny that work on the bridge is important or

that it is complex and time consuming. Those things stand to reason and have to

be accepted. However, it should have been equally obvious that major traffic

disruption would ensue and that this would, ultimately, have an impact on the

number of people visiting Marlborough for leisure or shopping purposes with a

consequent negative effect on traders in the town.

With that in mind the council should have ensured two

things. First, that there was a mitigation plan in place to help offset the

reduction in footfall. Second, that the works were expedited so as to minimise

their effects.

On the latter point, it is particularly irksome to see

that over the weekend periods machinery stands idle and that there is no

activity on the site whatsoever. This is simply not good enough. Work should be

going on at least 6 days a week, if not 7, to get it over with as quickly as

possible. Many retailers and traders have to work all hours for their

livelihoods; but not, it seems, the council. Let’s be plain: this is nothing

more than abject laziness. It reflects a typically old-fashioned public sector

attitude that is out of tune with the times we live in.

It is the former point, the mitigation plan, where the

council has been particularly negligent. In truth the work could not have come

at a worse time for traders. The retail sector is already in a fragile state

and small market towns and high streets are particularly vulnerable. As such,

it is the duty of councils to work with retailers and communities to protect

the vitality of high streets. Unfortunately, it seems that there has been very

little, if any, sensible thought around how to attract people to the town

during the period of the works.

A prime example here is the lack of thought given to

abolishing parking fees. Charging for parking is always irksome for the

consumer, especially so in rural areas where access to towns is difficult

without a car. During the period of the works, reducing or removing parking

fees would have helped to mitigate the reduction in footfall. Appreciably, it

does come with a cost but that cost should have been factored into the

programme of works. It could also have been handled creatively: perhaps

distributing parking vouchers to local business that they could give them out

to customers spending money with them so that they could have free parking on

their next visit.

Little thought has also been given to things such as

allowing temporary access to the high street via Hilliers Yard which would

certainly ease some of the concerns over exiting the car park onto an already

crowded George Lane. Admittedly there are difficulties with this, but they are

all soluble difficulties: speed bumps, temporary lights, pedestrian signage,

and so forth could all have been employed.

What is most frustrating is the fact that this affair

has shown how very little creativity or imagination the council has.

Marlborough is one of Wiltshire’s most valuable assets: a wonderful destination

for retail and for leisure. But like all assets, it needs protecting. In large

part that’s the job of the council. The dereliction of this duty, as

exemplified by the road bridge situation, does not bode well for the future prosperity

of the town.