I went to the Community Forum on behalf of Go Folkestone last week and told the various councillors how unhappy most of Go Folkestone were about the closure of the bus station. Officers said that 75% of the respondents to the last consultation were in favour of the changes, which include a two-way road created from the one-way Foresters Way from Rootes and Alliott to the Grace Hill junction. And only 25% against. So, the plan to close the bus station, convert Bouverie Square to a park and turn Shellons Street into a bus only street with several bus stops ranged along it for the buses that currently stack around the square, goes ahead. As we said in all our submissions and the Go Folkestone magazine, although we will accept the ‘’majority’’ and like some ideas, we strongly feel that the 75% is mainly car-driving online casual viewers who say ‘’ Oh, look at the trees and the park. Isn’t it great ‘’ and the 25% is mainly those who actually use the bus station, who wanted it just landscaped and modernised. Some of us worry that the flat, simply laid out park will be used for five years, prove a bit of a homeless, litter-strewn haunt, and then be suggested for a building e.g a hotel. This was actually suggested and drawn by the architect Guy Hollaway a couple of years ago. Or maybe Grace Hill Library will become a hotel (see below) as a town centre hotel is a constant cry from some!!
But the alterations will now happen whatever we say, although inevitably delayed since the last time we gave our members information. And not called Levelling-Up now, because that was a Tory concept. It is now August for tenders and maybe October start. Frankly, because there is a Labour MP, Tony Vaughan, now, some people are not so worried about the money suddenly being taken away for some Northern town if they don’t get a move on; a worry I had heard before the election.
Our efforts had helped result in a double bus shelter being added at the western (Bouverie Place) end of the long line of bus stops along the ‘’main road’’, because we wanted more capacity here. Also, the idea of seriously modernising the bus information as a sine qua non was taken on board. They will provide an ‘’electronic digital timetable‘’ which we hope means a LED display of the buses coming up, presumably sited in the Bouverie Square/ Shellons Street interface. This is progress, as described by Polly Blakemore the Green cabinet member for Transport, who kindly attended, along with Labour cllrs Abena Akuffo-Kelly and Belinda Walker.
Other bus matters covered were the gradual emergence of a District Council bus-users’ group for future feedback. We pointed out that the FTC bus users’ group, which is ca 30 people and has GF members Linda B and Elizabeth H (and me, and Mark Hourahane) on it could have virtually duplicated, with maybe a few other stakeholders such as Cycle Shepway. But apparently the Town Council will feed into the district one which hasn’t been set up yet. I hope GF get direct representation, because the more bureaucratic layers there are the more diluted real peoples’ views get.
On Debenhams/ Folca, owned by the District Council, the latter is still working things out, and hoping for a health use somewhere in perhaps the 1930’s half, despite the apparent demise of the long-planned conversion of much of Debs to a health centre, which Go Folkestone supported.
As of 18 July the County Council threw a bomb into the mix by calling a public consultation on a new plan to sell off the massive and leaky listed Victorian Grace Hill Library [1887] to the private sector for flats or a hotel, or presumably to Sir Roger De Haan for what he might like to do with it. That could be similar to the Creative Foundation scheme outlined in the GF magazine but without a public library and with more flats. Or CF might simply be uninterested without the income stream provided by Kent County Council staying in the Grace Hill building and paying a rent for a ground floor library as described in recent GF magazines.
Go Folkestone supports the ‘Creative Folkestone Scheme’ to keep the library where it is and surround and support by creative businesses. The Green District Council and the smaller Labour Town Council do not support the recommendation of moving out of Grace Hill either.
Nevertheless, Go Folkestone wants to foster a debate rather than a load of placard waving. If there isn’t De Haan interest, or if Sir Roger waits to get the library building at a knockdown price, then, as said on Page 3 of the current magazine, the District Council might be tempted to allow use of Folca/Debenhams as a library. The cons of a move to Sandgate Road, as felt by most in GF are:
- Potential greater destruction of parts of the listed building.
- Loss of a familiar location
- Loss of potential for some parts to be a community use or cultural use such as a gallery.
- End of Grace Hill shops boosted by library.
Pros of moving to Sandgate Road/High Street are:
- Strengthening of the high street to counteract losing Wilko, Debenhams etc
- Better finances for District Council, using Folca, and County Council, leaving Grace Hill
- More convenient position for library
- Possible advantages of Grace Hill becoming residential
The first community consultation is at Wood Avenue Library today, Tuesday. Go along.
WE TRUST ALL MEMBERS GOT THEIR MAGAZINES IN GOOD TIME. PLEASE TELL!
Richard Wallace