Regeneration disgrace

This is a letter from Sherry Waldon in response to David Renard’s comments in the Adver.

RE: The disgraceful state of Cavendish Square (SA, June 5), it is obvious that Councillor Renard does not grace this area with his presence. Yes, the council did provide new premises for the credit union and the shop and up-graded the library, but the plan for the whole square which was chosen after public consultation was never carried out. The “expanded and refitted library” (which was later due for closure and was saved by a local campaign) still suffers from periodic flooding on the square outside.

The Co-op, I am told, specified that there should be no competitive food shops in the actual square, so instead of getting, perhaps a decent bakery, greengrocers, and butchers shop, we got only the PopIn and the Ninetyniner. And the old cafe, which had been a community meeting place, was demolished and a new cafe soon closed due to high rents and lack of custom.

The new buildings looked like a line of warehouses and as the council had sold the land and washed its hands of the whole thing, it became almost impossible for our community forum to find out who the owners were so that the mess outside could be cleaned up. No wonder the regenerated Cavendish Square soon looked like what it is now – a disgrace with its litter, hazardous paving stones – and of course the flooding. If an area is not fit for purpose, the community soon loses care and respect for it. It is an insult to the local community to use the word “regeneration” about this particular development.

Sherry Waldon, Kingswood Avenue, Park North