Victoria Gardens update

Notwithstanding my last post on this subject, letters to the Argus and to the Cabinet Member for the Environment (from whom I have had no reply) the diggers have moved in on the northern Victoria Garden. Not that I really expected to halt the project which was obviously well advanced before I even got to hear of it. I admit therefore that this is just an ongoing grumble, with photos, to relieve my feelings.

So, where there was grass, which in the summer was frequently dotted with people sunbathing, resting, chatting or reading, there will now be four large rectangular beds with all the attendant extra maintenance costs, and the available grass will be reduced to narrow strips around the edges, much nearer to the traffic and more difficult to mow. . .  Meanwhile the desert of uneven shabby pavement around the edges of the garden, rarely walked on, will as far as I know remain untouched. Looking at the photo below one can see that at least 3 rows of paving slabs could be lost with no inconvenience to the occasional pedestrian and the extra land used for the permanent bedding, thus providing users of the grass with some sense of isolation from the road.

The lack of imagination displayed by this project in a City bursting with artistic and designing talent is quite staggering.