Town Centre Consultation – I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry

Rugby council is holding a consultation on the future of the town centre, which is a good thing but it closes just after the school holidays end which is a bad thing. Many who do not buy a local paper will not even know there was a consultation.

That aside headlining the improvements you've made so far with 'new bins' left me flabbergasted, I was not sure whether to laugh or cry. I would have headlined with 'Public Art Works' rather than 'New Bins'.

Now I'm no Shakespeare but the document on the whole read like the dullest marketing pitch ever. It starts off with a prettyish picture of Rugby Town Centre before stumbling into suggesting the council are only one of a number of key stakeholders, when I thought they were there to represent the public. On the whole there were no big ideas to offend anyone and some alluring suggestions but no commitments.

An interesting move would be to rework the town centre to provide a balance of retail and entertainment facilities so that any suitable new leisure facilities; cinema, bowling, skating, comedy club etc were located there. This combined with an expansion of the pedestrianised area would make the town centre a destination for families.

Without a cycle parking facility, and possibly even with it, pedestrian / cycle routes from the train station or Elliots Field retail park will struggle unless you have some very bold plans. Unfortunately the routes from either location are not ideal, it's a shame there's no equivalent of the old railway lines running either side of the town [Ashlawn Cuttings and the old Leamington Line] we could make use of. A free shuttle bus between Elliots Field, Junction One and the town centre is probably as eco friendly as we're likely to get.

Parking should be free for 3 hours, 5 hours if you buy anything over £5, all day if you spend £20. No coins should be needed for the parking system unless you're staying without spending money.

Lee Chase, stood for the Liberal Democrats in the Admirals and Cawston Ward in May this year (2015). This piece represents Lee's personal views on the town centre.

You can read Rugby Borough Council's press release on their "vision" for the town centre here https://www.rugby.gov.uk/news/article/1194/council_consults_on_new_vision_for_rugby_town_centre . The press release contains a link to their consultation document. The do cument is also available from the town hall.