From Andy Williams.
THERE is currently much debate around the creation of a town park and the associated building of a new multi-storey car park on the Ann Court site.

I must admit that the whole thing strikes me as quite bizarre. On the one hand we are proposing to take an existing car park and convert it in to a public park and on the other we are proposing to demolish an old residential property in order to build a replacement car park.

I may be missing something here but wouldn’t it be easier, cheaper and less disruptive to leave the car park where it is and just put the new town park on the Ann Court site?

This would also make more sense when you consider the buildings surrounding these two sites. Gas Place car park is bordered by mostly commercial properties that are unlikely to suffer any detriment should the car park remain where it is. Ann Court, on the other hand, is in the middle of a residential area that is certain to be degraded by the building of a multi-storey car park at its heart.

If one of the reasons for proposing a new multi-storey car park on the Ann Court site is to increase the overall amount of parking available, then surely this can be achieved both more cost-effectively and with less disruption by adding a single storey to the existing Gas Place car park?

Ultimately, if the aim in developing a new town park is to enhance and improve the quality of life of those living and working in town, building a large multi-storey monster in the middle of a residential area is definitely not going to achieve this.
9 Parcq du Rivage,
Route de la Haule,
St Lawrence.