I WAS born in Winchester, educated here, taught here, play recreational sport here and simply love the city. It was indeed named as 'the best place to live in Britain' and considered by the Sunday Times as 'practically perfect'.

Today, on my visit to Winchester, I found it to be shabby, grubby and polluted with the streets in the central area filthy and pavements and pedestrian areas grimy and full of weeds. It looked positively down-at-heel; many of the shop fronts and public buildings looked faded and uninviting.

It has been said that cleanliness is one of the greatest treasures of any settlement. Vienna, for example, on a larger scale, puts high priority on cleanliness and it is one of the reasons that it is such a delightful place to visit and stay. Why isn't Winchester City Council deploying street washing machines to get rid of the filth that contaminates the surfaces of our city?

The motor-racing circuit, which is Southgate Street, North Walls, Union Street, Eastgate Street, Friarsgate, Upper Brook Street and St George's Street compounds the problem. The 20mph speed limit is totally ignored by many and the strong smell of pollution from the endless buses pervades the atmosphere. I appreciate the problem is a planner's nightmare but drastic decisions have got to be made to control the damaging impact of noise and fumes on a relatively small, localised area. The Central Winchester Regeneration Area for this dilapidated part of town, if it ever happens, must reduce the reliance on cars in the city centre.

I suggest readers go and look for themselves at the way the historical masterpiece which is Winchester is tragically deteriorating, and weep!

Bob Sprague,

Lakewood Road,

Chandler's Ford,

Eastleigh

 

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