Big Eight progress? Don’t hold breath

Is Ashford the town of dreams and schemes? As far as the so-called Big Eight development schemes, seeing is believing I am afraid.

Four would be nice for starters, let’s face it. The population of Ashford will have to hold its breath waiting for all the promises being made for any positive progress. The A&E department at the William Harvey would be practically empty, due to a serious depletion of the town’s population.

We’ve had no town centre cinema for years, no real market for years and a music festival that took 21 years for the council to actually get behind (look at the first 15 years where they questioned funding being allotted or not to it).

We’ve had badly conceived art installations, enough hairdressers in the town centre to almost be able to try a different one once a week for all 52 weeks of the year, more traffic light sets than rubbish bins and hardly a pot to urinate in.

We also have a bunch of councillors who are so adept at being able to put a positive spin on everything.

Since I moved to Ashford in 1982 the Big Eight have been regurgitated it would seem a thousand ways. In those 34 years most of the Big Eight are yet to materialise.

So is it any wonder people either think they have been short changed for all those years or will still feel they are being short changed if it stops at eight. Adrian Cussens, Ashford places. Sorry I was being negative.

Every week I read his very exciting and positive plans for our future. I can only conclude that if Isaac Newton were on his team the apple would have hit him under the chin.

It was however nice for me to get a mention in Stuart Barton’s Ashford Life. Dudley Mallett, High Halden