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Homes would be better

Robert Hiscox, chair of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery Trust, deserves recognition for his determination “Why we need a museum” (SA 14 July).

I do not doubt the sincerity of his desire to improve Swindon town centre but disagree with his analysis of the situation.

It seems to me the degeneration of the town centre started to take root decades ago. I suggest it began in the 1960s and 1970s with rapid growth of car ownership. Like many other towns Swindon attempted to find ways to restrict vehicular access within the town centre. We began to see road closures for pedestrian use, parking restrictions and increasing parking charges.

The policy during the 1980s was to create out of town retail parks. These sites offered free parking and easy access to large, well stocked supermarkets which undoubtedly took trade from the town centre.

If Mr Hiscox turned to page 6, of the Swindon Advertiser, on the same day his letter was published, he could have read the report “Another shopping centre is approved”.

The report says, “A new 75,000 sq ft retail park has been given the go ahead by councillors, despite fierce opposition from town centre businesses” and “As many as 50 town centre businesses signed a petition calling for the rejection of the proposals and the council’s own development arm, Forward Swindon, warned that approval could harm regeneration plans”.

Mr Hiscox says Swindon is placed in beautiful countryside with excellent communications. Apart from travelling into Swindon town centre these are also good reasons to escape from it. Town residents have the choice of visiting the countryside or going on cultural visits to places, within easy reach, such as Bath, Oxford or Salisbury.

The proposed location for the new museum is brownfield land. Swindon has an urgent requirement for new housing. Perhaps a residential development would be a better solution for this site.

There is no real evidence to suggest a new museum and art gallery is likely to lead to any significant town centre regeneration.

K KANE, Wharf Road, Wroughton

Safety overlooked

One reason I was so keen on Leaving the EU was the obsession it had over “halting” climate change.

I felt the Directives issued by the EU to this aim were ruining our heavy manufacturing of steel, bricks and cement.

Now a more sinister side of that obsession has emerged, the improving of the energy efficiency of buildings.

The recent inferno at Grenfell Tower has shown us that the unbridled rush to make buildings more energy efficient has pushed the fire hazard checks to the rear of the queue in refurbishing buildings.

As a lay person I would blame the conflagration at Grenfell Tower on the use of cladding.

A previously safe but energy inefficient building was turned by the addition of cladding into a tinder box.

NOEL GARDNER, Carlisle Avenue, Swindon

Where are they now?

The letter from Mark Webb is the usual left wing rhetoric you expect.

On page 17 of the Mail today is the latest picture of one of these ‘boats’ being ‘rescued’ by agencies. Do you see loads of women and babies? No, just more and more migrants, coming from the Middle East, Africa and from all ends of the Earth, no passports, breaking international law, and yet the EU is bending over backwards to help them.

When Tony Blair let the back door open and let in over three million migrants, where are they living now?  Are they the people living on the streets or are they people coming from the EU without any home or job outlook? Mark needs to explain Mr Corybn’s promise to cut student loans, which he can’t afford now. And yes, answer the question about personal allowance or strike action.

T REYNOLDS, Wheeler Avenue, Swindon

What I said was...

Regular Swindon Advertiser ‘letters hack’ Des Morgan, who seems to have devoted all of his time over many years now to writing highfalutin diatribes almost on a daily basis, seems to have been stung into action regarding the first letter that I have written to the Swindon Advertiser for over six months (SA 11 July).

It rather does make me wonder at times as to if the sheer preponderance of letters from him and of course Bill Williams and a few others, as to if it is their sole interest in life to try to entertain or bore us all.

I seem to have hit a raw nerve with Des Morgan who has now given the game away as to what his political beliefs really are. However just as T More, who also felt stung, and then tried in sheer desperation to compare the Labour party to Venezuela, also did not read my letter correctly, and unbelievably Des is guilty of the same in today’s rambling letter that chops and changes from subject matter throughout.

Just as I have replied to T More’s equally rabid defence of the ‘nasty party’, this time it is for the benefit of Des Morgan who felt so very aggrieved as to spring to the defence of his Conservative friends over austerity and foodbanks, if indeed it is humanly defenceable in this modern technological age.

For the benefit of Tory Des, I will add word for word the comment that I made in reply to T More.

This was what I actually said: “T More’s response falls flat in the first paragraph as at no time did I write that ‘anyone that voted Conservative should hang their heads in shame’ and so I would urge him to read it again but properly, as I wrote, ‘Anyone that voted for the continuation of these policies in the recent general election should be hanging their heads in shame’ Therefore if the cap does fit T Mores’ Conservatives then may I suggest that they wear it with shame?”

GA WOODWARD, Nelson Street, Swindon