Is the new St Johns school ever going to be built?? Now it seems Kennet have to reduce the number of affordable homes on the Savernake site from 50% to 25% so enough money can be raised. Why not build 200 houses instead of 178? Make the developer build suitable access from London Road. This way Marlborough would get a new school and 100 affordable new homes, which the town needs!!!
Hi Rob. Is anybody out there? It's gone very quiet on the website lately. I've got mixed feelings about this subject. House prices are crazy and I feel alot for people who are not on the property ladder. I also feel that everything seems so crammed together in this little island. I know I keep banging on about that issue, but I'm moving back to the UK in the summer, and looking forward to many things, but the over crowding isn't one of them. Texas is five times bigger than England with a third of the population. That is enough reason to stop the population from growing. I guess the other thing is that in many other countries home ownership is not as high as in the UK partly because good inexpensive rental accommodation is available(?)
Back to your point, Rob. Even if you create more affordable houses, my suspicion is that they would be snapped up by people looking to invest in houses to rent out or whatever.
Maybe we have to look at means whereby local people get a look in, on the lines of what happens in the Channel Islands, ie create two markets, one open and one local- I believe they are considering this in certain popular areas of England. I'm sure the lawyers will have a field day.
Anyway, wakey wakey Marlborough and all you others around the world. I'm getting bored of seeing postings of days old. Get typing!
Ok so lets stir the pot a little and see what happens!
One of the most important factors to consider with housing in Marlborough is how do we create a more sustainable environment. Slowly we are witnessing young people and families moving away from the town because they cannot afford to live here on local wages.
This has a domino effect.
If young people and families cannot afford to live here, they move to other more affordable towns, which in return dramatically reduces the local workforce. Once this happens, shops and local businesses can no longer recruit enough staff (getting a job in Marlborough is easy - getting one that pays enough is not). If shops and businesses have no staff, they move out of town. If young people and families move out of town we lose the next generation of our workforce.
Net result - we become a tourist 'stop off' and a town populated by the wealthy and the elderly. Suddenly we do not need a school of such a size because the number of children in the local area has fallen significantly.
Clearly we need more radical thinking on this one.
For example, the Town Council owns property in excess of £6 MILLION in value. Some of this land could be sold and used to build '2 up, 2 down' cheaper housing. These properties could have covenants attached to them which specify that they can only be bought or rented by Marlborough residents (of say at least five or ten years) and also to prevent any extensions being built.
As for the new school, at least then there is a better chance of it being needed and well used.
Finally, it has always been made very clear what the housing capacity for the Chopping Knife Lane site is, and what the requirement for affordable housing has been. This is nothing new.
Surely if you or I cannot afford to do something, we do not expect others to reduce prices or change the rules so we can go ahead. What we have to do is cut our coats according to our cloth (a lesson schools should lead by example on). I am sure that if the will is there, we can still have a wonderful new school for a lesser cost, which can be added to and enhanced when funds permit.
The "New School Project" is a bit like the theatre project. Well intentioned but the promoters are so tunnelled visioned that they fail to see the big picture or the implications on the community from what they are trying to achieve.
I have no personal need for a school and do not need affordable housing in Marlborough so I have no axe to grind. I do however worry about what people are doing to the town. A friend who is a professional in the building trade has expressed his disgust at the design of this new school and its wanton waste of money. He says (and I am in no position to argue) that the choice of design and materials has unnecessarily added cost to the project and when coupled with its relatively short life (40 - 50 years?), it is a total waste of money. He claims that a more traditional structure would be cheaper, longer living, yet as functional.
However we and the people of Cherry Orchard know, the school governors will not change their plans so instead they want to be treated as a special case so that they can raise more money from the sale of their only disposable asset. Everyone wants to be treated as a special case when money is involved but the people of Marlborough (not the school governors) need to decide what price they are prepared to pay for a new school.
The simple fact is that the site being sold for development is a fixed size. If you squeeze more dwellings on then you are simply creating problems for the future - such as the inevitable request for a residents' parking scheme because there is inadequate provision on site and everyone needs 2 cars because the houses are too far from the shops to expect people to walk.
Put simply the rules are that the plot will take x houses. Current planning rules quite reasonably state that x/2 dwellings will be some form of social or affordable housing. It is imperative that the people of Marlborough decide what value x is and if the governors cannot then raise enough money from the sale of the plot they need to go back to the drawing board or seek alternative funding.
In all the hype about this new school project another community cost never seems to be aired: The head goes on about how having a split site costs more to run because of the duplication of resources and is inefficient in the use of teachers' time. This is probably so. However if by having a single site it cuts out this waste, then it can only be done by cutting jobs - by implication both teaching and and non-teaching posts. In the rush to get little Johnny educated in a new school building spare a thought for the poor people whole will lose their livelihoods (and possibly much more) through no fault of their own.
Regarding ‘Mavericks’, “ Tourist stop off”. I think some people in Marlborough have that on their agenda for the town and fail to think of its residents. Unfortunately a bus full of the ‘blue rinse brigade’ parking their bus in Waitrose car park then using the Town hall loo doesn’t bring a lot of money in!!
If the council has millions of pounds tied up in land, which is suitable to have affordable houses built on, then why is it not happening…. I realise that letting the Council have some spending money is a little risqué, but hey we get some affordable houses….
I have to agree with ‘Splodge’…
“The promoters are so tunnelled visioned that they fail to see the big picture or the implications on the community”, Regarding the Theatre; I believe it will become the White Elephant that Marlborough people will end up paying for, but only a minority will use
Sorry Rob but you're last posting is so full of wrong and sometimes insulting information that it's mind boggling!
1) The "blue rinse brigade" is a bit of an insulting way of tlaking about elderly people - and incidentally - mine does not have a blue rinse but is more purple really - some of us "old" hippies just don't know when to stop!
2) Don't knock the bus loads of tourists - the economy of this town is based on tourism even though we treat them pretty badly. Withouth the visitors spending money here you would notice a very sharp decline - first in the High Street and then the spiral down would be fast.
3) The Town Council aren't sitting on millions of pounds worth of land, but have property - one of those buildings is of course the Town Hall itself. I believe that some of its' property is already rented out for Social Housing so don't let's get this too out of proportion.
4) The Cinema/Theatre is a massive business gamble I agree, but personally I think it is a worthwhile gamble. So many people - youngsters especially - are crying out for something to do in Marlborough in the evening other than drink. Kennet Valley Arts have long since pledged that this project will be inclusive and be made available to all. If that does NOT happen then I'm going to be right up there banging a drum (literally) and making them honour that pledge. Remember, the building itself will do more than just act as a cinema theatre, it will have a conference centre, exhibition area and much much more. It should generate more money for Marlborough - once it becomes a drain - especially on MY money then I'll certainly be up there yet again - banging my drum!! Let's hope they do lots of exciting things - encourage kids - have Saturday morning cinema, clubs, workshops etc etc and give younger kids and teenagers and so forth real challenges and encouragement. We have a Leisure Centre in town for the sporty so this could even the field up.
I know - I'm just an eternal optimist but if the town does NOTHING it's wrong, then when people work really hard to do SOMETHING - it's wrong and SUPPORTING initiatives is wrong and being apathetic is wrong - see where I'm coming from?
