11 responses so far ↓

• 1 Lee // Jan 4, 2007 at 10:56 am

  LOL!
  How many times have we heard that, why even bother? The time for a town centre has come and gone, we’ve got a half dozen main roads leading from the stoke into Town and to the mall, buses every fifteen minutes and food stores in easy reach.

  Yeh, alright, maybe 10 years ago it would have been a great idea, but with the mall and so many other stores within easy reach a town centre at this point is pretty much pointless.

  It was supposed to be part of a green belt, except they built and built and built to the point where now there is naff all land left to build anything that could consitute a half decent town centre. The only reason they didn’t plow through savages wood was because of the oil pipes beneath it so what the hell, should we throw our hands up in the air in praise of the worlds greatest empty gesture finally coming to light.

  Bradley Stoke is Europes largest private housing estate and thats it, its not a town, it has no pride, little of any value and I could be wrong but I think they are actually paying someone 25 thousand pound a year to be in charge of walking in bradley stoke, so now we have poxy maps everywhere and little purple and yellow squares to tell you that yes, yes this is a path deemed good for walking.

  Pathetic

• 2 BSE Newsdesk // Jan 4, 2007 at 11:17 am

  Amusingly, Lee, I was watching that documentary from 1988 that the BBC posted on their site and in that they were saying there would be a town centre. It’s about the most promised item on the BS32 building list and has only really come about because Tesco know they’ll make more money from a huge store …

• 3 Cllr Robert Jones // Jan 4, 2007 at 2:19 pm

  Our new Town Centre may be long over due but that doesn’t take away from what a great place to live Bradley Stoke is.

  Many people, not least myself, have enormous pride in this town and we have many sports and social clubs that continue to go from strength to strength.

  Of course we can still improve things and we shouldn’t be complacent in thinking that our new centre won’t bring with it its own problems. But we have a great opportunity this year to celebrate our 20th Birthday and tell the world that Bradley Stoke has finally come of age.

• 4 BSE Newsdesk // Jan 4, 2007 at 2:48 pm

  Hello Councillor Jones, and welcome to the website.

  For what it’s worth, I agree with what you’re saying. It’s just a shame that it has taken so long for Bradley Stoke to get this much needed centre. As I pointed out, it was something on the planning list as far back as 1988, as I’m sure you well know.

  But now it’s on its way I’m sure the doubters will realise the impact it will have once it is opened.

• 5 Brian // Jan 4, 2007 at 5:40 pm

  Bradley Stoke is, in the main, a nice place to live and I wouldn’t go as far as Lee in condemning it, but he also does make a good point. To me it is a large (private) housing development with a good location for shopping (primarily at the Mall and surrounding stores), handy access to the Motorways and not too far from some nice countryside.

  But what it isn’t is a Town in the sense I know from where I grew up. To me a town is a “proper” collection of shops based on a Main or High street, with the associated mix of local and national shops, with housing then radiating out from that.

  Sticking what is effectively “Tesco’s Mall” onto one side of Bradley Stoke (it’s not even near the centre for easy access to one and all) does not make it a town centre. After all, does the Cribbs Mall provide a town centre off to the side of Patchway? At least they have the Rodway Road shops to give them a sense of having a proper community town centre.

  And maybe that’s part of the problem. Does this Tescos development feel like it’s for, and part of, the community? To me it feels like it just provides yet another shopping, not town, centre which hopefully won’t suffer from yobs hanging around like other places do. Ultimately I agree with the Newsdesk - that it’s just there to make Tescos money and that’s the real impetus behind it.

  I hope I’m wrong.

• 6 Jon // Jan 5, 2007 at 4:12 pm

  The new Tesco is about creating a larger store, more products and therefore providing a better shopping experience. Yes a new store will obviously create more revenue but it will create more jobs for the local area. A greater selection of products will give people more choice.

• 7 anon // Jan 8, 2007 at 12:27 am

  A new town centre!! Or just another place for the up and coming YOBS to hassle the good honest people who will be visiting/living in the area. This will be another place for them to gather intimidate in their large packs they now move around in. Will it be more hassle and more damaging to the community we’ll have to see?? Lets get ready now for the increased anti-social behaviour the damage/fights etc!! Nice just what Bradley Stoke needs. Never mind though im sure the council will get a fruitful financial benefit from the development

• 8 Brian // Jan 8, 2007 at 9:27 am

  Jon - definitely you’re right about the jobs (a very definite plus point) and that there will be more choice that bit closer to home. I think what people are sceptical of is that this is being sold as a new town centre for Bradley Stoke, rather than the excuse for a larger Tesco store we believe it to be, and it is also raising valid concerns about any increase in anti social behaviour that may occur in the area as a result.

• 9 Paul Cox // Mar 13, 2007 at 8:25 am

  I think that the new Town Centre is an amazing idea. I’ve lived in Bradley Stoke for almost two years now and really enjoy the quiet town life but having the city life so close. Would be very nice to be able to pop in to a “community” town centre rather than a large commercial centre such as Cribbs or Broadmead. Bring it on I say! I beleive it can only boost the already established community spirit Bradley Stoke has.

• 10 Lee // Oct 12, 2007 at 12:43 pm

  I’ve lived here 17 years, I was raised here.
  If you go to say Severn Beach or Thornbury there is a real sense of community, you’re never more then three people away from anyone else in the area.

  Bradley Stoke doesn’t have that.
  Its getting there, theres no doubt that its getting there and the recent construction of the secondary school helps with that, but it would be naieve to believe that there is a sense of community.

  Its also an extremely diverse area. I’ve walked through Tesco’s and heard four different languages being spoken by different people in the same aisle before. Something I’m actually quite proud of.

  The argument is that back in the beginning a town centre may have been useful because the community could have been built around it. Now the community is here and its too late to build a town centre, instead we should cater for the community thats here now and that money might very well be better spent elsewhere.

  What about if we took all of that money and we dealt with traffic problem at Aztec West round about every morning, that affects everyone, that might actually be useful.

  Perhaps plant more trees on those hills which have been built up out of left over materials from housing construction near the lakes. That would help the environment and help ease noise pollution.

  What about those great big rocks on the way up to the top of the Red Brick hill by the lakes.
  Is there no better way of making them visible then painting them with big yellow and white lines?

  Perhaps deal with the constant flooding that occurs by the lakes every time we get heavy rain.

  Build actual cycle paths rather then painting a dashed white stripe in the road which only serves to make the road smaller.

  There are other aspects which could be considered, such as finishing the tram transport system into town that was planned so long ago or actually providing somewhere for these kids to hang out rather then telling them that the parks are intended for children under 12 only and that the skate park is off limits after dark.
  These kids have no where to go, they end up sat underneath primrose bridge, outside the church or hanging around outside Tescos, though even that has started to fade away.
  Its no small wonder they end up causing trouble and considering Bradley Stoke seems to be attempting to cater for a family community wouldn’t it make sense to give these children somewhere to go where it wouldn’t leave them out of pocket and they can just sit around and hang out.

  All of the above are far and away bigger priorities then insisting on more speed bumps and what is, in effect, a bigger Tesco’s.
  It just hums of a council intent on building a “Greater Bradley Stoke” with a stronger commercial infrastructure instead of recognising and catering to the community thats already here.
  We’re never going to be a big town, its just a big housing estate and the oppurtunity to change that has already passed us by because there simply isn’t the land to make the changes that are being proposed.
  Stop trying to create this picture perfect community and deal with the problems we face now and have faced for years.

• 11 Mrs D Momber // Mar 6, 2008 at 3:34 pm

  Will there be appropriate banking facilities in the new centre - perhaps a branch of Barclays or Lloyds TSB?

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