Places features

What do you think? How would you solve Weston's housing and traffic problems?

Marion
I am so glad i found this web site, but so sad to read all the negative comments about Weston, i've just sold my property and was seriously considering moving to Weston but i don't think i will bother now - I agree with comments the council needs to do something about the infrastructure in and out of Weston and create more decent jobs to encourage people to move there. Weston could be a great place to live and work it has so much going for it so councillors don't neglect the town and roads get active and improve on the facilites that are already in place and create better paid jobs and roads.

Flossie
I live in the new estate in St Georges and apart from the appalling nightmare of trying to get onto the motorway of a morning, have found it a lovely place to live. Nice area, well built home, good schools and the beach nearby. The shops are excellent here, my sister who lives in London comes down here to shop as they are so much cheaper and I certainly have never had a problem wandering around Weston itself. Apart from the commuting problem, it is an easy going, convenient, pretty, affordable and pleasurable place to live and I love it.

Ken
Weston does not need more houses, as it is the public services are struggling in particular the Hospital. If this proposal goes ahead a new Hospital is essential which is at least three times the size of the present one and has funding for all of the necessary resources, ie staff and equipment.

mark
more jobs you look when the mines open up years ago they had house put up for the workers the railways workers in swindon making trains had house put up for them you need to get more compeys to move to w s m and only give jobs to people living in w s m only.

Kate
I live in Long Ashton and we have been afflicted by new development that adds 1/3 to the population of the village. No extra shops, schools, doctors, dentists etc so kids are being bussed to school 10 miles away and the doctors are giving appointments for over 2 weeks ahead. The planning rules mean that there is grossly inadequate parking and increased traffic is causing serious jams in the mornings and evening. Most of hte houses were bought on a buy to let basis so the incomers don't contribute to the community and many of the appartments are empty. We are now told that we are to take another 900 houses but still no improved infrastructure.

Bernice Whiteley
The last thing Weston needs is more housing, it's bursting at the seams already. I commute to Bristol every day, and have to leave approx 6.30am to avoid the hidious tail backs to St Georges roundabout. It's the same coming home, the A370 gets extremely busy and I am queing all the way home to the southward area of the town, the latest road changes that have been done i.e making a bus lane toward St Georges roundabout and creating a footpath that hardly anyone will use are only going to make matters worse forcing cars into single lane traffic, in the scheme of things how many buses, taxi's and bicycles will be using the road compared to cars, it's ridiculous. It seems that whatever the Highways Agency do in Weston has a detrimental effect, we are sick to death with it. I agree with John Penrose, we need to create more jobs, counsellors should pull there fingers out and encourage industry/commerce other than retail to move into Weston. Weston has become an absolute DUMP and I can't think for the life of me why people come here for their holidays. Quite frankly, I'm ashamed to say I live in Weston-Super-Mare and can't wait to move. I am sure that all of the comments made on this site will have no effect on the people that run Weston, and things will just carry on as normal.

Richard Lee
Why do we need all these new homes? The population is not growing this fast. If we are going to out employment before new homes then why has nothing been done about creating the business units on the former RAF Locking site. Where are Oxford Instruments? Where are all these companies who could use this land? Instead we get more and more homes.. How about some more jobs? And a three-tier Jn 21 which allows the A370 to flow freely as well as motorway-bound traffic to get on and off without major tailbacks?

RIchard Lee
Please not a motorway junction on the A371 Banwell Road. Yes to Locking Parklands [RAF site]

Lew
How about chain gangs of druggy wasters to build housing & the new motorway link? It moght make them re-think living off tax money & stealing their next fix!As a motorcycle commuter I think it would ease traffic problems if the police & courts spent time retraining (& prosecuting) "middle lane morons" to drive on the left in England - it would change the M5 from a dual carriageway into a 3 lane motorway!

allan caimbridge
I don't think they've been doing their maths right, 27,000 extra homes and only 8,500 extra jobs in Weston to ease the congestion, it's just ridiculous. I've commuted from Weston by both car and train and I can tell you when I'm in my car I wish I was on a train and not stuck at junction 21, and when I'm on the train I wish I was in my car and not crammed in with everyone else like a tin of sardines.

John Davidson
I don't think they've been doing their maths right, 27,000 extra homes and only 8,500 extra jobs in Weston to ease the congestion, it's just ridiculous. I've commuted from Weston by both car and train and I can tell you when I'm in my car I wish I was on a train and not stuck at junction 21, and when I'm on the train I wish I was in my car and not crammed in with everyone else like a tin of sardines. One of my colleagues working at Aztec West actually got a new job in the centre of Bristol because they couldn't stand the ques out of town anymore and wanted to get the train. They regret that now, that after experiencing the service provided by First Great Weston. I don’t know what the new jobs are going to be doing, all there is in Weston is working in a shop, in a bar, hotel or nursing home. It’s silly if there was improved links to the motor way it would help encourage business to move here, it’s ideally situated, close to Bristol on the M4 (and I bet a lot cheaper to than Bristol too) and near the Avonmouth docks, it would be an ideal place for industrial and commercial centres, if they could only get in and out of the town!

Alan Chamberlain
A second junction! Good Idea.You could run it out where the Coop depot/workshops used to be.

Ryan Taylor
we need an extra motorway junction or an extended version of the one we have. The two lanes are just not enough to cope. There is potential to extend the dual carrageway from 2 lanes to 3-4 lanes on the exit to weston but the only thing the goverment seem to want to do is build more homes.

John James
Weston is a total dump which is just an aborttion! We don't need anymore houses. We DO NEED a new motorway junction, improved roads in the town, and improved services. If there is to be some 20 odd thousand new homes then that will bring at the VERY MINIMUM 20 odd thousand extra cars.... So with no improved roads, no decent jobs, everyone working like i do in Bristol coz it pays far better for less hours than the exact job in Weston, all we'll end up with is even more chaos than we have now. The council couldn't run a bath, let alone a town, and i for one can't wait to move out the area, and actually get a decent standard of living. Walk around the town if you dare and take a look at all the wasters, druggies, and alky's we have, add that to the total abortion of our roads, and what have you got, an attractive, appealing, very inviting pace to come and spend your life and money..... DON'T THINK SO!

Andy M
If they build any more houses in the Weston area they will need to improve the road network top allow people to get in and out of the area. Currently getting out of Weston via jct 21 in the mornings takes 30 to 40 mins and the same trying to get in at the same time via the north bound slip at jct 21 can take up to 20 mins so people wanting to work in Weston cannot get in. Soon grid lock will happen. I am glad I do not drive or ride on an X1 bus as they can never run to time in the rush hour. NO MORE HOUSES PLEASE

Phil H
The council have spent years milking the tourists with absolutely no intention of re-investing any money into the town. Its all coming home to roost now. My home town is now a festering sore on a map of the westcountry. We used to be proud of weston, not so now. All these new houses, and the developers dont have to offer anything to upgrade the infrastructure...why not? They just keep building.....where are all these people going to work? Just saying there will be 10,00 new jobs doesnt wash. They will never happen and the few that are actually created will be menial minimum wage offerings, hardly the way to apply for a mortgage in the new shiny weston. Wait for global warming to get into full swing, all those new houses are built on flood plains and boy are they going to flood! The fields they were built on had large grooves in them called gripes. They were designed over a very long history to drain the fields of water when and if they flooded and we just build houses on them. The insurance companies are going to have a ball, if you can get insurance. So the town crumbles into some sort of chaos and the government say it will all be sorted by 2026. Exactly which calendar was the idiot that said this using? Oh and by the way the jobs in Bristol pay more than any job in weston but then most of the new jobs in weston will only require one qualification, the ability to say "would you like fries with that?"

lucy kelly
to invest in more future employment in weston super mare

Chris
And what sort of jobs exactly are we talking about creating? If it's just more bottle washing, floor cleaning and shop assistants at rates on or below poverty level, then forget it....no-one can run a mortgage on that kind of job. You need hi-tech, professional, scientific, financial services offering proper salaries and proper careers. That's why people with brains leave the region. I certainly don't think Weston is attractive any more, and I wouldnt choose to live there, especially on any of those rabbit-hutch estates. Building more roads, though, only creates more future traffic-jams so why isn't someone investing properly in RAIL?

Mike Keen
Regional development is about planning and implimenting immprovents of the existing and allowing for expansion of a community in a wholely integrated manner.

Steve Wilks
Create 8,500 to 10,000 jobs now that I would like to see how are they going to do this build the Severn Barrage ? It is the only way. Weston is overcrowded and has no soul it may want to move with the times but is still stuck in the past enough said.

Jane
Is there anywhere else in Somerset other than Weston-super-Mare!??????????. Five headline stories tonight and every one is about Weston!! Weird!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonathan Jeffrey
There are easy solutions and it is difficult to understand why they aren't implimented.1. Create a 2 lane slip to the M5 from Weston with Traffic lights stopping the traffic from A370 to allow traffic to move onto the roundabout to the M5.2. Ensure SWRDA are forced to provide more money for infrastructure/services before they are allowed to develop more houses.3. Rigorously stop further housing expansion at the Planning Committee until services are improved through S106 obligations - the money from which should not be used to fund holes in irrelevent Council budgets. It is Westminster who dictates the level of new houses required, simply say ''not yet''.4. Require all housing developers to contribute a proportion of their development profit, above S106 contributions to specific and very defined improvements.5. Plan the towns expansion in village terms. When new houses are built they must be self sustaining in services / schools etc.6. Above all the Council and Councillors must be more proactive in seeking development partners and be prepared to take quicker, clearer and probably more difficult decisions for Westons good - not their political careers or party biases. Whoever heard of a councillor who was not tied to a political party's policies, that just wanted to improve Weston?All is needed is the Councillors to do something.

Carol & Robert
Having had 4 generations of family in the area, we have seen weston go from a lovely seaside town with beautiful surrounding areas into an over crowded commercial crime ridden dump, lacking in the most basic of facilities. We used to be proud of the area, now everyone knows what a hell hole its turned into. I've even read recently slating reviews of the area, what a shame. So many people are now embarrassed to live here. Whoever allowed so many cheap uninspired estates to be built should be ashamed of themselves. The area hasnt developed as it should have done. Our family with such long roots in weston are now moving from the area, as are many of our friends an collegues. Greedy local council. If you want to know how not to develop an area, look no further than weston super mare.

Simon Shuker
Don't fall into the trap of just building for a proposed community that does not need to leave Weston on a daily basis to work- we need to improve the access into and out of Weston from the motorway (and adjacent towns- Bridgwater, Clevedon etc) beyond recognition. Otherwise the working proportion of the town (and the prospects for youth, business etc) will further reduce, people will find less lengthy commuting elsewhere and the town will decend into a dependancy trap, as it will do unless the hostels and rehab centres are completely excluded. There are already more than enough re-habilitation facilities of all types sited in Weston- why they are allowed there in the first place needs to be answered by the Council who continue to licence them. People will not invest in a community which is only able to require help and inspiration, and not contain the people able to offer it!.

Nikki Shephard
I have lived in Weston all my life and have seen it grow and grow but now something has to give, the people in charge need to take note and do something rather than the hot air they spout. We don't have housing estates we have rabbit warrens, a breeding ground for future trouble spots. Our local facilities are not adequate, 1 public swimming pool?! GP's services are stretched and one hospital with a small A&E Department?! As for junction 21, I live a max of a 5 min drive from there, so why does it take me anything from 20 - 30 mins each day to get get onto to the motorway, as yes I'm one of those thousands who can't get a job locally as much as I'd love to.