New centre at heart of area

REDEVELOPMENT, fly-tipping and youth facilities are among the election issues in Liden, Eldene and Park South.

The ward comprises about half of Liden and the whole of Eldene and Park South, which are currently either in Dorcan or Parks wards.

In Eldene, one of the key issues is the £10m project to build a new a village centre with a large supermarket and petrol station on the former site of Dorcan House, in Dorcan Way.

Swindon Council has agreed to enter into a collaboration with a supermarket chain, thought to be Morrisons, and the current site owner to bring forward the development, subject to planning permission.

A decision over what would happen to the existing village centre, which is owned by Swindon Council, would be made at a later date, although council leader Rod Bluh has said the Eldene Community Centre facility would probably remain.

Resident John Byrnes, 69, who was the first person to move into Blackstone Avenue, Eldene, said: “It will brighten the area up a bit. Things have to change, we have to keep with the times. It’s a good thing. New shops, better shops, better conditions.”

Mr Byrnes said another issue was fly-tipping in the car park behind the Crumpled Horn pub. He said this was exacerbated because he had heard the centre’s security cameras did not work properly, and he would like the new councillors to look into this.

He said: “Last week there was a grandfather clock dumped there and a complete metal bed – it was leant against the recycling. If those cameras were working correctly, they would be able to catch those dumping rubbish.”

In Park South, Carol Brownlee, of the Swindon Walcot and Parks (SWAP) community group, said residents wanted the new councillors to fight for the Cavendish Square redevelopment to be completed.

She said a small shopping mall was originally planned to be built in part of the square, but this was left undeveloped, and later surfaced as a car park, due to the financial downturn.

“I doesn’t look inviting at the moment because we’ve got two car parks,” she said.

“In fact I would imagine the car parking space we have actually got at the moment is bigger than the actual floor space of the shop units.”

In other issues, she said she wanted the council to offer more support to extend youth facilities in the area to help reduce anti-social behaviour, and also to help with the integration of the local Gurkah population, particularly in relation to people learning English.

Some issues raised by voters in Liden include a lack of youth facilities and bus services at the evenings and weekends.

Liden, Eldene and Park South

Three seats

Candidates for 2012:

  • Andy Albinson, Conservative
  • Anne Baxter, Lib Dem
  • Sinéad Darker, Conservative
  • Neil Heavens, Labour
  • Fay Howard, Labour
  • Derique Montaut, Labour
  • Robert Sheppard, UKIP
  • David Wren, Conservative Number of potential voters: 8,632 Most recent turnout figures: Dorcan (43.38 per cent in 2011), Parks (29.62 per cent in 2011) Winner’s majority at last election: Dorcan (Conservatives with 47 per cent), Parks (Labour with 54 per cent) Existing councillors: Andy Albinson (Con, Dorcan), Roderick Bluh (Con, Dorcan), Kevin Parry (Con, Dorcan), Steve Allsopp (Lab, Parks), Mark Dempsey (Lab, Parks), Fay Howard (Lab, Parks)

Don't forget to register so you can vote

Swindon Council is urging people to ensure they are on the electoral register by tomorrow (April 18,) which will enable them to vote.

It is are also warning electors, who will be out of town or otherwise unable to attend a polling station, that they must fill in and return a postal vote application form by the same date.

To check you are on the electoral register, look at one of the copies at the Central Library, in Regent Street, or the Civic Offices, in Euclid Street, or call electoral services on 01793 464601.

Postal vote application forms are available by calling the team or by logging on to www.swindon.gov.uk

Transport provokes debate

BUS services and a controversial highways trial are among the key election concerns for voters in Penhill and Upper Stratton ward.

The two communities were previously separate, with Penhill having a ward to itself, but they have been merged under the boundary reform.

In Penhill, residents and ward councillors started campaigns when Thamesdown Transport cut the number 21 service, which served the Penhill Valley among other areas.

Thamesdown said its changes, in January, were needed because the services were not commercially viable. But critics said the move restricted access to vital services, particularly for pensioners.

In February, Swindon Council agreed to pay about £15,000 for the bus firm to provide an off-peak service for the valley and other areas affected by the cuts for up to a year while long-term solutions were sought.

Jim Hayes, 75, of Lyneham Close, who used to rely on the number 21, said: “It should be quite an election issue in the valley and in Pinehurst and for the people in Ferndale Road.

“I would like them [the new councillors] to get a new bus service in the valley. And if Thamesdown Transport can’t provide the service, another bus provider must be brought in to serve the people of the valley.”

Mr Hayes said he also wanted the new councillors to fight for the repair of the estate’s roads and footpaths, which he said were potholed and cracked in places.

Marilyn Beale, secretary of the Penhill Forum, said: “Because we’ve got important areas of large open space in Penhill, our concerns are the cutbacks in the rangers and the parks services, and what makes that worse is the fact that nobody seems to know what’s happening on it.”

She said the forum also wanted the new councillors to fight for better council support for community groups, maintain support services for families such as Surestart, and maintain or improve council housing.

In Upper Stratton, a key election issue, with strong views on both sides, is the experimental ban on drivers leaving and entering Queensfield during the busy morning and evening periods.

The move by Swindon Council followed what some residents said was a 15-year wait for action to stop Queensfield, Duchess Way and Hathaway Road being rat runs for commuters.

But some residents said there were other solutions, such as linking Crompton Road with Hyde Road, and handed in a petition containing more than 400 signatures, calling for the ban to be suspended.

Resident Nigel Wood, 66, of Hathaway Road, said: “I would like it to stop immediately, cover the signs up and stop inconveniencing the commuters because they’re the ones keeping the country going.”

Penhill and Upper Stratton

Three seats

Candidates for 2012:

  • Paul Baker, Labour
  • Lucy Britton, Conservative
  • Ray Fisher, Conservative
  • Ceej Ntsiu, Conservative
  • Teresa Page, Labour
  • Tom Pajak, Lib Dem
  • Joseph Tray, Labour Number of potential voters: 9,285 Most recent turnout figures: Penhill (31.80 per cent in 2011), St Philip (42.93 per cent in 2011) Winner’s majority at last election: Penhill (Labour with 30 per cent), St Philip (Labour with 50 per cent).

Existing councillors: Andy Harrison (Lib Dem, Penhill), Paul Baker (Lab, Penhill), Sinead Darker (Con, St Philip), Janet Heenan (Con, St Philip), Joe Tray (Lab, St Philip)