| Atherstone
Booktown Critic Censored
Atherstone
resident and Booktown critic James Holdaway emailed us because his comments are
being banned from the
Atherstone Forum website.
Over
the last year Atherstone's image has gone through some changes. Most recently
by the success of its shops which are steadily attracting a growing clientele.
The fact that there are four independent book outlets and various other new ventures
amongst the numerous pubs, diners, hotels and shops shows that this is a place
to invest. One of
the main attractions of our small town is the low ground rent to turnover ratio,
given the proximity to major commercial strategic points such as Birmingham, the
M6 , M5, M42 and M1. And this confidence is being shown by numerous developments
in the area, which are supported by local government. However,
it could have been a very different story. In 2005 , with the support of a local
councilor , the town was described in The
Independent as: " Atherstone. It's a small market town (population 8,600),
somewhat scruffy and drab. It's had its moments of glory ... Atherstone has declined.
Discount stores and empty shops pepper the main street. There's an air of weariness
about the place". However,
this should be a a message to all about the unregulated power of the local council
members. In fact the public statistics show that the town has shown a consistent
upturn in occupancy, wealth and employment, and the miserable times of the 80's
have long disappeared. After
rubbishing the town it was declared that Mr. Hanna would be our saviour, with
the Booktown concept to fill the empty town. What
a load of 4X. The Booktown concept had indeed been rolled out elsewhere and whilst
it has had some success in other hands; Mr. Hanna's particular brand has a history
of failure. How
can a council official unilaterally run down and then decide the fate of a town
(this was not a town or borough council decision) without consultation. I
have raised this subject a number of times on the "Atherstone
Forum" which is supposed to be a forum for local issues, but each time the
topic has been banned. At
the end of the day the Booktown concept is not relevant here, it is the unofficial
powers of local government that need to be addressed. Add a comment
James Holdaway
22.04.06.
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