I believe the '£350000 improvements' to the station forecourt has now/is soon to start... will it be much different to what we already have?
Station Forecourt Improvements
I picked up the attached form from the station the other day, showing the plans for redevelopment.
Thanks SarahJ I hadn't seen any plan yet - I must say it looks like it will be a very big improvement!
I see the local papers are full of shopkeepers-objections about using Darkes Lane as a bus park while the work takes place. I don't think it'll affect trade too much, I'm sure people will walk from Manor Road car park. Trade might even pick up, as a new market arrives and departs by bus!
It's a shame the car parks don't allow a free hour as in Darkes Lane. I find the on street parking in Darkes Lane causes so much traffic congestion as people park wrong side or drive between the two roundabouts scanning for a space.
I also noticed a shopkeeper the other day come out and re-sticker her car, personally I wouldn't be bothered to do that every hour but clearly some people do. I guess when the buses park there she'll have to pay

> using Darkes Lane as a bus park while the work takes place. I don't think it'll affect trade too much
Now this scheme has started I can only see one bus waiting bay, outside the funeral place near the mini roundabout. It seemed to have extended back onto the double yellows too so it doesn't take up much room. Much drama about nothing!
I think there is also one by Barclays Bank on the Walk
Did they really mean £350,000? Or did they include an extra zero.
All they seem to have done was remove about 20 car parking spaces

Be good if they clarified that walkway that runs across the forecourt by putting stripes on it so the drivers know they should stop (or not) because at the moment it's not.
Thought there was to be a drop-off area somewhere "kiss and go" or something? Where is it? I can only see taxi bays and disabled bays, no "kiss and drop".
Still, it looks to have put an end to terminally lazy parking right outside Sainsburys on the forecourt and I was never sure who parked in those bays outside the camera shop. Guess they've all had to park in Sainsburys now!
It looks quite nice but I don't know why it took so long.