[Acrylic-bob]

Thanks Atarah for the Paul Butler Assocs. link, it helps to make sense of the rest of the plan.

For once, I find myself in the rather unfamiliar position of having to congratulate the council for having the sense to commission the two reports, particularly the Paul Butler report. Which appears to follow what most of us have been saying for quite some time now; especially regarding the eysore at the back of the Town Hall. One slight quibble; the report's authors are quite keen on the image of St. James's Churchyard with railings. I can recall the churchyard before the gravestones were taken up and I do not recall it possessing railings or the vacant fixings for them. It had high-ish stone walls, as I am sure photographs from the late 50's early 60's will comfirm.

Like Willow I found myself somewhere between options 3 and 4 on the masterplan. My only real concern is that, having raised our expectations, the council will cherry pick from the plan and what we will end up with is the usual mish-mash of half implemented plans and schemes that contradict each other. Either that or they will take so long to implement it all enthusiasm and interest will have gone the same way as the Market revenues.

Marks out of ten? A cautious Seven