More problems than solutions from closure

✒ IF we consider human history we evolved and starting living in caves, hunting wild animals, at some point in time we discovered flint that enabled spears and arrows to be made.

Early humans spent hours making flint tools that would make their life easier, then instead of living in a single place, shelters were made that took hunters closer to their prey.

As humans we spend our resources whether that be time or money to make our lives easier, this is inbuilt and has been triggered from earliest times.

Here in Cheltenham we have the closure of Boots Corner, this we are told is to increase the High Street’s viability.

We should not take this for granted but consider its viability.

Firstly we have had new parking arrangements geared to stop commuters from street parking for free and using the public train service.

This obviously has a knock on effect because locals who could park close to the town centre now find it difficult to find free street parking to shop in the town and if you could it’s a route march back to your car loaded with shopping.

There are shop workers who come in to work from places like Stroud and Evesham who now have to find free parking on the periphery of town and walk in, is this figure part of the high street increased footfall?

Parking meter charges have increased in some places by up to 45 per cent, according to the council this was influenced by a survey by the British Parking Association, private companies having a financial interest in parking.

To park close to town in a public car park is £2.40 for two hours, so this must be added to the cost of any goods purchased. It can be seen that its becoming more difficult to shop in the town centre unless you use a bus, bicycle or pay to park in the streets or car parks.

I would like these questions answered:

» Do the Cheltenham Borough Councillors consider they are helping the High Street or killing it? Is it not easier to go online select your goods and get free delivery to your doorstep? » Do the Cheltenham borough councillors feel that the 47,976 people who visited or passed through Cheltenham so far picking up a fine is good advertising to Cheltenham as a shopping centre?

» Do the borough councillors think that the 12,700 trips that passed through Boots corner each day disappear or do they simply add to congestion on other roads driving up more pollution in these areas?

I have seen other vibrant towns who have been in the same situation and spent millions of pounds in trying to join up the high street, then they have spent millions of pounds in undoing what they first implemented reinstalling a pelican crossing.

During this period of time the disruption simple killed the High street, today the major retailers have moved out, if people cannot access the High Street’s services easily then as humans we will simply go elsewhere.

We must praise Kevan Blackadder for his contribution on a shopkeepers survey, if the results from this independent survey highlights a business downturn to a small number of shops then surely this is not acceptable, is this the thin end of the wedge.

The council has a total lack of understanding firstly commenting that it was only a small number of replies received in the survey and secondly stating that its reducing pollution in the town centre.

There has never been any pollution monitoring equipment installed at Boots Corner so how can the council say there was an issue in the first place, we then have heavy congestion along St Georges Street and Winchcombe Street which was never this bad before the Boots Corner closure.

All the signs would indicate that Boots closure has caused more problems than solutions. B Rowe