State of town is tip of national iceberg

THE subject of the state of Hayes town has elicited many letters of late including from some who seek to defend it.

What readers will see is a rubbish strewn High Street (Station Road), gobs of white gum all over the pavements like that outside the railway station, red stains from betel juice spat out, I could go on.

And that is to say nothing about fights and arguments between those trying to park cars, loitering yoofs - many in school uniforms (but all recent arrivals), street beggars and drunks, fruit and veg. shops spilling out and blocking the pavements, and hoards of dumped rubbish in corners such as in and along Crown Close.

Basically there is no civic pride in the town anymore – if there ever was – evidenced by its continual and rapidly increasing squalor. And Hayes is certainly a no go area for old folk, especially in the late evenings, and especially on Fridays.

Even MacDonald’s now closes at 10pm due to anti-social behaviour. The Botwell Inn has recently installed extensive CCTV cameras at its entrances – right where the street gentrification has just taken place. Why? The answer is obvious.

Public transport also needs to be sorted out for the coming disruptions. There have not been any bus stops between Hayes Station / YMCA and the north of Botwell for many months.

No announcements are made by the drivers that the intervening stop(s) are closed – resulting in long walks back. When Station Road and Crown Close are closed then there will be no buses serving the railway station at all, the gap between stops will then be from Farey Corner right through to North Botwell missing out Hayes Town entirely.

However the degradation of Hayes Town is but the tip of a nationwide scandal.

There are far worse towns and cities in the UK with real no go areas where civic pride left very many years ago. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED