Author: Rachael Brooks
Shanklin Town Square Officially Opens Next Friday
Friday, 4th December, 2009 at 11:20 am, Isle of Wight
Community, News, Shanklin, Town Council
Anyone who has driven through Shanklin recently will be aware of the work taking place to create a new public square.
The public space will be officially opened next Friday morning at 10am with the event organised to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lord Palmerston becoming Prime Minister.
What has that to do with Shanklin you might ask? Well Lord Palmerston was an Island MP for the pocket Borough of Newport and Shanklin has a road named after him.
Who’ll be in attendance?
Shanklin Town Crier Shirley Ballard will be making herself heard whilst, Town Mayor Lynda Fleming, Priest in Charge Alan Swanborough, Leader of IW Council David Pugh, will be lining up to do the honours of officially opening the Square and presenting certificates to the headboy/girl from Shanklin Church of England Primary School, Simon Lock and Elizabeth Martin.
Town Mayor Lynda Fleming said “We have worked with the IW Council to improve road safety in this area, improve accessibility for disabled people, and retain parking in this part of the Town.”
Leader of IW Council David Pugh is also a town councillor for Shanklin said “Although there a few finishing touches to be added, the Square will help join Regent Street up with the High Street and Old Village – as well as be a reminder as to how Shanklin used to be.”
Lynda finishes by saying “I would like to thank our partners for making this happen, and am sure that the Square will be used by residents and tourists alike.”
Related posts:
- Andrew Turner Officially Opens Inside Outside Artists Moving On
[ 10, September 2009; 6:00 pm; ] Island MP, Andrew... - The Square to Square Charity Cycle Challenge 2008 Starts Tomorrow
The Square to Square Charity Cycle Challenge 2008 starts tomorrow.... - Purple Mango Shanklin: A New Indian Restaurant Opens
Impressive food at Purple Mango.... - New Public Square for Shankin
A new town square is planned for Shanklin at a... - Square To Square Cycle Gathers Pace
A CHARITY effort by Island firefighters to raise at least...
Email This Story To A Friend
Lol! Opening next Friday – I wouldn’t count on it! They haven’t even got half way with the paving yet.
(Report comment)
Only 4 days to go hahahahhah
Just as well the Tory club have put up their tree, otherwise I doubt we will get one on the triangle folly
(Report comment)
“The Square will help join Regent Street up with the High Street and Old Village”
Well there are still at least 3 other roads pedestrians have to cross between them including 2 major ones. Are they going to take those over too and make more town triangles?
I honestly cannot believe who thought this was a great way of spending £80,000.
Total waste of money.
(Report comment)
I quite agree Andrew. That money could be used so much more wisely.
(Report comment)
not to the person getting the contract
(Report comment)
When will the Christmas tree be erected? Will the planning committee be taking a vote first?
I think that this tree will be a blot on a landscape of outstanding natural beauty and should be scrapped and replaced with a concrete one.
(Report comment)
These comments are getting silly. Whoever heard of a concrete tree! Try and be positive. It’s quite nice to have pedestrianised areas with outdoor cafe seating and some planters scattered around during the summer season plus a few good quality buskers like during Cowes week. During December different local group could revive ye old English tradition of singing and playing carols round the tree Like at at “ye old Bonchurch postoffice”. Now the “town square ” is done, it’s time for the movers and shakers to use it positively to cheer everyone through the great recession (let the liberal lefties go somewhere else!)
(Report comment)
However, there aren’t planters, as the area still needs to be accessed, seating may not even happen and carol singing around a tree already takes place elsewhere in Shanklin.
(Report comment)
Outdoor cafe seating for a closed and untradable resteraunt..once the tree has gone up and the planters in, diasabled people will be as unable to around it as they were when it was a road
..and who is paying for the extension on the house whose drive is now in-accessable..
The lovely view of the rear of Nat West Bank (which looks like a squat)#
This is a Tory Folly…funny thing is ..we pay for it
(Report comment)
No longer have “ye olde post office” in Bonchurch!!
(Report comment)
let’s see if shanklin can outdo sacriston!
———
It was dubbed “Britain’s worst Christmas tree”, but town hall bosses have replaced the festive focal point in Sacriston, Durham, with an equally sorry-looking offering.
The original £125 tree was planted two months ago, but it failed to grow into its metal frame…
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/Sacriston39s-sorry-Christmas-tree-replaced.5884933.jp
(Report comment)
utter nonsense…improve accesability by closing a road…
This money could have been put towards a roof for the theatre
(Report comment)
in days of yore politicians seemed to be of a different calibre :.
compare substantial lord palmerston with the current chinless twit leading the conservative party.
(Report comment)
Palmerston’s Follies still stand in the Solent.
I don’t think that Pugh’s Follies (all those big, new schools) will last as long…but, by 2040, he will be in the House of Lords, if they still have one. Let me know if I am wrong.
On another topic: does that photo in Shanklin depict a person using a cash machine at a NatWest Bank ? If so, they have lessons to learn about competition in Ventnor.
(Report comment)
let’s have a bit more respect towards lord pugh (as he will become)!!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/columnists/routledge/2009/12/04/farewell-to-the-council-fat-cats-115875-21871117/
(Report comment)
He’ll actually have to do something to achieve it…cocking up managing a little back water like the Island won’t look good on his CV…(but then again his CV is not very impressive anyway)
(Report comment)
Been past the triangle today – nowhere near finished!
(Report comment)
I’ll take a picture Friday Morning and send it to VB
(Report comment)
I assume this didn’t open today, unless a magic fairy worked all night and laid the rest of the slabs – can anyone confirm this?
(Report comment)
Not unless Pughy was wearing a hardhat, yellow jacket and driving a mini digger
Next Friday maybe!!!!!
(Report comment)
I doubt next Friday, maybe the following Friday – oh no, it will be Christmas Day! Bit late to put up the Christmas tree then!
(Report comment)
They may finish it today – still got about 10m2 left to do! The finish isn’t great – the slabs haven’t been cut well at the buildings.
(Report comment)
its a rush job…hahahah
They will have to come back after Christmas to tidy it up because it is abysmal
It has got a nice slope on it that a wheelchair user or skateboarder will have a lot of fun with
(Report comment)
Some of the slab gaps have been filled with sand!
They will be back in January to pedestrianise Orchardleigh Road – http://www.iwight.com/living_here/getting_around/car_roadworks_detail.asp?rwId=9906
Can’t quite understand why they are pedestrianising the road – it’s not a popular road to walk down, as there is nothing down there!
(Report comment)
I saw them filling in the cracks by hand yesterday whilst people were walking over them…tragically comic.
another £80K wasted on Orchardleigh.
What are we being distracted from?
(Report comment)
Maybe the council has been leading the locals on about its plans for the Theatre..making it look like it cares, when it doesn’t and when accused of no investment in Shanklin, can point to these two follies to ease their guilt
(Report comment)
It pains my scientific brain to call this a “Square”. Couldn’t we just call it the “Pugh Irregularly Shaped Small Useful Pavement” (or it could be known by its initials).
(Report comment)
hahahaha
I just call it Pughs Folly
(Report comment)