The 'striking futuristic' street lamps in Oxford Road were installed as part of a £7 million regeneration scheme. Now they are being taken down because of “ongoing maintenance issues”. Spare parts are no longer available so as part of a general review of street furniture, Reading Borough Council decided to get rid of the lampposts.
Disposable lamp posts after 10 years is clearly not sustainable, this local authority should be apologising for their mistakes. They also wanted to demolish the Civic Centre, which is newer than most buildings in Reading. Madness, when they could refurbish it to make it greener for less money and less carbon.
They didn't think to include a cycle path in the development, though there is room for it. Our Labour Council has failed on so many levels, this is just one more nail in the coffin.
It reminds me of all those other regeneration myths that ignore local people, such as the London Dome, Olympics, and many more. They often benefit developers at the expense of the community.
If you search the web for regeneration, you find Dr Who. Leave it to Science Fiction.
2 comments:
These lights always were a damn fool idea.....no doubt designed by a damn fool .....and installed by a damn fool council
They missed the most important thing, talk to people before you spend their money.
Then we may have had a bike lane.
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