How £7.5million will be spent improving Nuneaton ringroad

[dutchman]

It has been the centre of many headaches and jokes



Nuneaton town centre’s notoriously traffic-clogged ring road is to be finally fixed.

Work is going to take place to try and tackle the ‘pinchpoints’ which cause nightmares for motorists across the town centre.

It is one of the very few details that have been made public about the £7.5m Transforming Nuneaton plan.

Catherine Marks, project manager for Transforming Nuneaton at Warwickshire County Council, told a scrutiny panel that as part of the plans to package the town centre more favourably to attract investment they needed to look at solving traffic issues – such as the ring road around the town centre.

That includes making the whole ringroad dual carriageway to try and ease some of the notorious traffic jams.

She spoke about the need to look at the ringroad section by the train station, especially as it comes into the gyratory system.

But Cllr Keith Kondakor said that the success in the project does not only lie in fixing transport problems but also making the town centre a ‘destination’ place to visit.

He spoke about the blueprint plan which includes a wish-list of new additions including a cinema.

"This is a massive opportunity it is not going to be easy and we need to enable great things to happen but be mindful not to get too delusional we had a scheme ten years ago to develop Vicarage Street and nothing came out of, it is really important we learn lessons, don't make mistakes and we move forward and actually get something.

"I am alarmed on the focus on making the roads bigger, because roads do not generate a single penny, we need something for people to go to.

"I looked at the diagram and I saw an area marked for cinema, a cinema is something useful, look at how thriving places like Hinckley are.

"We do need to put an effort in, not just infrastructure but actually to have something why people want to go there.

"You can make the ringroad 18 lanes wides but you will have a really tiny town centre and you will have noting for people to go to you need to have something that people need to go to .

"We need to do a lot more about the destination side of this rather than expensive infrastructure."

[dutchman]

Church Street car park in Nuneaton to close permanently



A car park in Nuneaton town centre will close for good this weekend as works to create retirement apartments are about to get underway.

It has been revealed that the Church Street car park will close on Sunday (January 6) to pave the way for the development.

All of the equipment will be removed from the car park so that the land is ready to be handed over to the developers, McCarthy and Stone on Tuesday, January 8.

Once built, the development will boast 50 apartments for those who have finished working.

It will also create some much-needed jobs in the town.

The project is the first retirement development in Nuneaton town centre.

Councillor Julie Jackson, leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, said: “This is an exciting development that will transform a prominent site within Nuneaton town centre," Cllr Jackson said.

"It will improve the look of the area and also bring new people to live in the town.

“This heralds yet another wonderful milestone on our Transforming Nuneaton journey and takes us forward in achieving the ambitious vision we have for the town.”

Cllr Izzy Seccombe, leader of Warwickshire County Council, added: "The Transforming Nuneaton programme is now well underway, with this latest project starting soon after the completion of improvements at Coton Arches roundabout.

“There are exciting times ahead for Nuneaton and these early projects mark the start of an ambitious programme that will help the town reach its full potential.”

A spokesperson at McCarthy and Stone concluded: “Our development will deliver substantial economic benefits to Nuneaton, as residents of retirement living schemes prefer to shop locally and often on a daily basis, bringing additional spending to the town centre, improving local vibrancy.

"The development will also act as a catalyst for further regeneration and investment in the town centre, further contributing to its overall long-term sustainability.”

[dutchman]

Spelling mistake blunder on Transforming Nuneaton prospectus



Nuneaton’s most famous daughter’s name has been spelt wrong in a prospectus aimed at attracting investors into the town centre.

It has enraged eagle-eyed readers who spotted the spelling mistake of George Eliot in the Transforming Nuneaton prospectus, unveiled this week.

Contained on one of the images is a photograph of the George Eliot statue in the town centre and is captioned ‘George Elliot’.

A reader contacted CoventryLive and fumed: “How can the local authorities, in Warwickshire and Nuneaton, have a chance of improving anything, when they cannot even spell George Eliot correctly in their prospectuses?

“The most famous person to come from the town and they get it wrong time after time! She will be turning in her grave!”

There have also been concerns about a section in the video, made to help publicise the new prospectus, in which Ian Powell, the borough council's director of regeneration and public protection, states that the town's train station is on the East Coast mainline.

The line is actually on the West Coast mainline.

The prospectus has been put together by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which form the Transforming Nuneaton Partnership.

[rebbonk]

It's a bit ripe the Telegraph picking upon spelling mistakes

[dutchman]

It's a bit ripe the Telegraph picking upon spelling mistakes

Very true, and getting locations wrong!