Town is living in a different age

I have lived in Warwick for the past four years and see a real need for dynamic growth within the town centre to attract regular visitors. But the hostility to change is palpable. A new hotel by the Racecourse? Oh dear me no it might interrupt a scenic vista used by very few and why would we want a modern hotel when we have bed and breakfast establishments and two old hotels with cramped rooms? A bar with music? Oh no, that might disturb people living in the town centre. A wine bar with an outside garden area for smoking? Oh no, that might be not only noisy but fill the air with smoke. What about a new gastro pub in a listed building? Oh no, again too much noise. What about a new town centre supermarket? Oh no, lets just have another coffee shop and a “cheap and cheerful” discount store. What about more town centre parking? Oh no, let’s get rid of parking and have a bus station. This, incidentally is used by very few people and results in large buses on streets that are far too narrow.

Warwick it seems lives in another age and cannot see any advantage in new ventures. Their main idea seems to be to keep the status quo, a dying town with no attractions other than the castle which again causes complaints. A Trebuchet in a conservation area? Heaven forbid!

The main complaint is of noise disturbance to town centre residents. Well, it appears to be needed to be said that if you live in the middle of a town you will experience a lot of noise and if you want peace and quiet then Warwick Gates and Hatton Park are obvious choices to move to. It is little wonder that the town centre manager has thrown up his hands in despair and resigned! - Name and address supplied.