'Planning' (From Penarth Times)

'Planning'

THINK I must have fallen asleep and missed the bit explaining the planners" reasons for choking the life out of a little Victorian seaside town like Penarth.

There must be a competition amongst the planning fraternity to see how many people they can possibly squeeze into as many flats/houses they can build in the smallest area available.

A little like "how many people can you get in a Mini?"

If we"re not careful we may even lose our little clock roundabout in the middle of town to a post office tower type building.

So there are now plans to put a roundabout at the Merrie Harrier.

Well I do believe in years gone by (and not too far gone by) I have a vague recollection of a roundabout being taken away from the Merrie Harrier in favour of lights.

Another ever decreasing circle!

I marvel at the roundabout workings by the Baron"s Court and admire the challenge that has been set to the motorist who from day to day has to work out which lane to go in and in which direction to get to the other side.

I am sure all will be clear in time and the new lights will be a revelation in traffic control.

However I do have concerns that all this is in vain if that tiny little roundabout by Tesco is not given a makeover.

The planners seem to have forgotten the competitive nature of the Welsh, the determination they can show in absolutely not letting anyone pass in front of them even though they may have right of way.

And having sat in a queue for some time on the Marina or coming down Windsor Road, the determination to be first across the roundabout irrespective of the rule of the road will become paramount.

Do planners ever have to answer to anyone for their blunders or are they a special breed who just drift through life dreaming up plans that cost a lot of money, with no consideration for the indigenous population?

Perhaps if they got out of the office now and again and looked around, instead of drawing impressions on computers, they might appreciate the over development of the area around the Bay/Penarth and the traffic chaos it is causing.

Perhaps they should all give up planning and developing for Lent.

Joyce Harding

Cliff Street

Penarth