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Big switch-on for the big screen

4:08pm Saturday 3rd May 2008

comment Comments (63)   Have your say »


GREMLINS in the system scuppered hopes for a dazzling lunchtime launch of Swindon's biggest TV screen.

Football fans were supposed to test the swish new screen in Wharf Green with a hi-tech virtual penalty shootout competition on Friday.

But a technical hitch scuppered that - though the giant screen was ready and raring for its launch in the evening.

People gathered in the centre of town for the big switch on which was performed by BBC Points West presenter Alex Lovell with a giant remote control.

The BBC Big Screen is the first permanent one in the south west.

Erik Burnett-Godfree, producer for the BBC Big Screen said: "The screen will show the best of the BBC's programmes.

"It will also show movies, documentaries and other features by people in the local community.

"It is way of bringing people together and taking them out of their living rooms and into the public arena.

"This will instil a sense of civic pride in the people of Swindon. It's given them this area where they can meet, relax and enjoy themselves."

Keith Phillips, film and digital media officer at Swindon-based Create Studios said: "It was a great event. We had some of the work produced by us featuring young people broadcast on the screen.

"We also had our camera crews taking shots of the crowd and that was shown on the screen as well."

Bernie Maguire, of town centre management company inSwindon, said: "The screen will draw people to the area and it'll get the heart back into the town centre.

"It'll show people that there's change happening in town and it's for the better."

Carol Heneghan, marketing director of the New Swindon Company, said: "The screen's going to be a focal point for people in Swindon.

"It'll give them a place to relax, meet and enjoy themselves and also be great for live events and other things.

"The council have been great in securing the funding and this is the first step in transforming the town and it's a great start."

The giant 35 sq metre screen is situated on the side of the Brunel Centre's west car park and is the first of seven areas in the town centre to be regenerated under the New Swindon Company's £1bn project.

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Frontier(s), says...
4:39pm Sat 3 May 08

Yep, that'll be Swindon - the only thing we've so far seen of the planned 'regeneration' is a big television (that will only show a very limited and narrow selection of programming)... and even the grand launch of that went wrong.

Priceless.

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neilswindonuk, Swindon says...
5:12pm Sat 3 May 08

Not that many people turned up either, so it was cringeworthy tv ! They had to have the camera down on a low angle to make it appear lots of people were there.

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Robin Harris, Swindon says...
5:33pm Sat 3 May 08

What a load of tripe these people come out with.

"This will instil a sense of civic pride in the people of Swindon."!!!!! We couldn't have this without a screen?

"The screen will draw people to the area"!!! What type of people? The drunks and druggies?

"The screen's going to be a focal point for people in Swindon."!!! Who says so? It won't be for me.

They are all so busy patting themselves on the back that I don't think they bothered to ask anyone else what they thought.

It is about time they ditched the New Swindon Company because they are totally out of touch with the residents.

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Frontier(s), says...
5:39pm Sat 3 May 08

We're not allowed to comment on it directly, but why has a Swindon jusge just given a convicted crack drug dealer just 5 years in prison when the maximum sentence possible is actually life and an unlimited fine?

This crack dealer will be out and selling more crack to 15 year old girls within 2.5 years.

Yet again the people of Swindon have been endangered by weak, pathetic and dangerous sentencing.

When is this going to end?

Maybe the giant TV screen should display all the local court sentences, so that the people can see for themselves what's going on.

BTW, no names are mentioned in this post so it cannot be libellous. Therefore deleting it will be pure, and very concerning, censorship.

May I suggest that if certain people do not like their dangerous judgements pointed out to the public at large, they might consider what they're doing and make decisions to benefit the public rather than criminals.

I get the feeling that a certain someone knows that we're on to him - hence the Adver covering up the posts that expose him.

The more these posts are deleted, the more it becomes clear what's going on.

Report this post »

Mumstheword, Walcot says...
5:55pm Sat 3 May 08

I think you are being a tad paranoid. It was actually me that reported your post as I was concerned about legality issues.

Report this post »

sashstaff, Swindon says...
7:02pm Sat 3 May 08

I give it six months before is goes wrong, gets vandalised and is removed.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
7:07pm Sat 3 May 08

It does seem a rather odd place to put a TV screen, as it is adjacent to a road, is it not slightly distracting. I have to agree I'm sure it is money well spent. But I guess there will be little residents can do now they've allowed the same council 'make up' to continue.

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JayBee, Swindon says...
7:54pm Sat 3 May 08

Thats the best thing to happen in Swindon now the drinkers and druggies can get right in the centre of town maybe patio heaters can be installed to keep them all snug and warm while they watch TV LOVELY !! Maybe the Bus Station will be a safer area now and be a little more inviting to visitors when they get off the coaches - then go into town, what a laugh! Oh, what about all the residents in the John Murry Tower, do they want that noise all the time? The rents are very expensive and thats thier reward. Oh well carry on improving Swindon.

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malkym, says...
7:58pm Sat 3 May 08

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of Barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold

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doug@homefarm, SN1 says...
8:02pm Sat 3 May 08

malkym wrote:
You'll remember me when the west wind moves Among the fields of Barley You can tell the sun in his jealous sky When we walked in fields of gold
Careful, you'll start psaltry and grimaldi off!

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
10:21pm Sat 3 May 08

FFS, a fantastic feature like this in the centre of town, one of only a few in the whole of the country, and something special enough for Points West to shift their Bristol-centric focus to Swindon, and what do the residents do to welcome it? ... moan. Moan moan moan. Really, I wonder if this town deserves such a feature. I wonder if the regeneration of Swindon is a waste of money because of all the cynics who will belittle and drag it down. The report about the TV screen on Points West was really upbeat and positive. Such a pity about the apathy, sarcasm and poor turnout at the launch.

Come on Swindon residents, show us that you deserve investment and regeneration!

You do, don't you?

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
10:43pm Sat 3 May 08

Andy - I agree! It's a great feeling to be watching a big event on a big screen with a big and enthuasiastic crowd!

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Casual Observer, Swindon says...
12:02am Sun 4 May 08

Robert Feal-Martinez wrote:
It does seem a rather odd place to put a TV screen, as it is adjacent to a road, is it not slightly distracting. I have to agree I'm sure it is money well spent. But I guess there will be little residents can do now they've allowed the same council 'make up' to continue.
Finger on the pulse as usual RMF.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
7:59am Sun 4 May 08

Andy Newell, perhaps the poor turn out was due to a lack of publicity, I may have missed it but I don't recall the Adver flagging up the launch or hearing about it on local radio. By the way by last should have read, money not well spent. CO, no idea as usual with your posts whether you are being sarcastic or otherwise.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
8:12am Sun 4 May 08

Andy Newell, perhaps the poor turn out was due to a lack of publicity


Agreed, I didn't hear about it either or would have attended if only to set eyes on Alex Lovell!

Hard for me to understand why people of Swindon are so cynical about investment in their town.

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dalekdave, Swindon says...
8:23am Sun 4 May 08

Andy Newell wrote:
Andy Newell, perhaps the poor turn out was due to a lack of publicity
Agreed, I didn't hear about it either or would have attended if only to set eyes on Alex Lovell! Hard for me to understand why people of Swindon are so cynical about investment in their town.
It's because for years we have been promised stuff and all we have seen so far is stuff being pulled down. After all that, what's lauded as the "focal point for the people of Swindon" is a giant TV screen. That and crackpot ideas like flooding the town centre - sorry I mean putting a canal through the centre of Swindon - make people cynical. It's all talk and pie in the sky schemes.

I can't help comparing the regeneration in Swindon to that of Bristol. They have virtually rebuilt the whole of Broadmeads whilst Swindon has installed a dodgy TV screen and half rebuilt its library.

The people of Swindon will need a bit more evidence before they start to believe that this regeneration is anything to get excited about!


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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
9:01am Sun 4 May 08

The promised regeneration may be moving at a snail's pace, but at least there is some positive movement forward.

The 'regeneration' of Bristol has been to demolish an ugly 60's precinct-style area and replace it with yet another clone town. And being a big, bad city, they will have a large pot of money to go in and do it quickly (got to keep those cash registers ringing, you know!)

I would rather we followed the Birmingham regeneration model - they demolished the concrete and replaced it with the clone, but retained and mixed it in with the best remaining features - the huge market, older shopping area and (dare I say it) the canal. And it attracts a large amount of people - both local and visitors to the area. But even though they did a major rebuilding of the core shopping area, there are still a lot of derelict/empty areas around the centre that they are working on very slowly.

We may have been promised the earth and given the plant pot in the past, but it is no reason not to get enthusiastic about this plan - the fact that we have almost got a new central library after all the years of that awful 'temporary' building gives me hope for something better here.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
9:03am Sun 4 May 08

dalekdave, never mind we'll all feel better when Cameron returns to the town in September to open the library, that's assuming of course it will be ready.

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
9:05am Sun 4 May 08

And RFM - what road is the screen adjacent to? Unless they've moved it, it's within a square with no sight of passing traffic.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
9:17am Sun 4 May 08

I'm sorry I thought it was on the side of a multi story car park, are cars banned from there now.

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
9:23am Sun 4 May 08

It is on the side of a multi-story car-park. The outside. The cars enter from another part of the building. Have you visited Swindon recently?

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
9:28am Sun 4 May 08

Not the inner town centre to be honest, it's just a little depressing seeing all the derelict buildings and gravel piles. I must have look though it must be good looking up and seeing cars passing.

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
9:35am Sun 4 May 08

So you lambast something you haven't seen. So like a politician! If you look at the photo, you might notice the screening that they have put on the side of the car-park, so you can't see the cars and they can't see you (if you decide to visit the gravel piles). If you wish to give your opinion on something going on in town, at least have the decency to check your facts before sounding-off to all and sundry.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
10:08am Sun 4 May 08

So that's what it is, I thought it look like timber cladding. Quite interesting that, the gaps in multi story car park walls are designed to mitigate the effects of exhaust fumes. I wonder if air flow tests were done before a decision was taken to block off the air flow. Could have serious health implications for drivers. Nice to see such an attractive addition to the town. As someone commented will probably keep the druggies and drunks amused for a while.

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
10:28am Sun 4 May 08

There are gaps for air-flow. Is it really so difficult for you to find something positive to say? And as a purveyor of alcohol yourself, I would be wary of commenting too much on these drunks that roam the town in amongst those gravel piles. For goodness sake man, lighten-up!

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Mick out West, West Swindon says...
10:34am Sun 4 May 08

"It'll get the heart back into the town centre", and
"a focal point for the people of Swindon". What planet are these people on, I got a telly at home.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
11:12am Sun 4 May 08

I'm sorry I thought it was on the side of a multi story car park, are cars banned from there now.


What a truly miserable and cynical man you are RFM. I feel quite sorry for you. You can't seem to find the good or optimistic angle on anything.

Apart from that, you said the screen was adjacent to a road, which it isn't, and rather than admit your mistake, you dig an even deeper hole for yourself by saying you meant the car park.

As for the reduced air flow, that really is clutching at straws to find a negative angle on the installation of this screen.

You really should lighten up a little! No, you really should lighten up a lot!!


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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
11:24am Sun 4 May 08

Oh dear so you accept the best Swindon can do is to stick a big screen on the side of a car park and then hold it up as a shining example of regeneration. Amazing how I am being attacked again when 95% of the comments echo my view that this is a waste of money. We have a nation of couch potatoes and now we'll have couch potatoes in the Square. I note another regeneration project is put off again. By the way I am neither miserable or cynical, just honest I express my view, Democracy remember. Oh but I forgot we must all agree its the 'Common Purpose' way, there must be not descent from the masses. Having people speak out makes life difficult for politicians, well tough. I intend to carry on speaking out. If people don not like it they do not have to read my posts.

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
11:35am Sun 4 May 08

Blimey! A bit precious, are we? Like to criticise everything and everyone else, but can't take it yourself?

We don't all necessarily agree with all that is being done in our names, but it's sooo easy to knock everything (without even checking your facts), not so easy to offer constructive critcism or a positive slant.

Just because we don't agree with you doesn't mean that we are part of some big conspiracy against democracy, you know.

Get a life, please!

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
11:38am Sun 4 May 08

And it's difficult not to read your posts, given the quantity.

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Robin Harris, Swindon says...
11:51am Sun 4 May 08

I am not against the big screen and don't consider it a waste of money. What I don't like and I suspect many of the same ilk agree is being told how good it will be for us and how it is going to be an asset to the town.

Let it stand for at least 6 months and then ask us what we think.

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Donkey, Swindon says...
12:22pm Sun 4 May 08

I don't agree that RFM talks too much on here. He is entitled to his opinions and often he is quite informative and indicates other angles. So, he is against the EU, but he is subjective.

To the issue ... I can see the attraction of the telly in the sky, but as Mick out West says, he has a telly at home! I wonder if anyone else has one? Incidentally, who pays the TV Licence fee?

The thing is that apathy reins in Swindon, and many are disillusioned, like myself, that stagnation which has set in is not really going to be lifted by something which all good football stadia have in numbers ... large tv screens!

Thw Wharf Green Block Paviour Land is very suitable for all manner of entertainment, the Council should be praised in accepting Government funding, as I understand, towards it.

We could re-instate the Big Top Market now, instead of building a replica in seventy years time, and have the beloved Blondinis given pride of place after a repaint.

I could see later family members of Billy Smart erecting their large tent and putting down a ring every so often for live circus.

Swindon could have regular culture festivals in marquees and a real ale event, not that I can drink the stuff myself ... okay, a coffee event !

A stage could provide outdoor drama and music like Lydiard Park and the surrounding businesses could make lots of dough. Oh, the possibilites are endless, but a tv screen is sadly not earth shattering.

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Donkey, Swindon says...
12:23pm Sun 4 May 08

Alright ... reigns!

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
12:44pm Sun 4 May 08

Oh dear so you accept the best Swindon can do is to stick a big screen on the side of a car park and then hold it up as a shining example of regeneration.


Nobody said that, don't words and opinions into my mouth. The TV screen is the start of the regeneration project. A good start I feel.

95% of the comments echo my view that this is a waste of money


Another made up figure. Please check your arithmetic.

We have a nation of couch potatoes and now we'll have couch potatoes in the Square.


Robert, couch potatoes aren't created simply by the existence of a TV. They're created by the content shown. One would hope the TV will be used for informative or cultural programmes, as well as big screen events like sports matches to create the atmosphere you don't get watching TV at home.

Democracy remember.


Thanks goodness for it and the good sense of voters in St Margaret's Ward.

I'm not saying that you can't have your opinion, just that I think it's an opinion for the sake of being miserable and anti-everything.

Having people speak out makes life difficult for politicians,


I thought you were a politician?

If people don not like it they do not have to read my posts.


A remarkably childish comment.

I agree you seem to be able to dish it out in droves, but don't seem to like it much when someone has a go at you?



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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
1:06pm Sun 4 May 08

Donkey - I do not have a problem with RFM's posts, I was answering his comment that we don't have to read his posts. I like to read the posts from everyone to get a feel for all sides of the debate and he does make some interesting points. I do think, however, that he is quick to comment/criticise, when not necessarily in possession of all the facts. To criticise the screen (and the town centre) when he hasn't seen it is not good debate on the subject.

He is entitled to his opinions, but so are other people. Life isn't always black & white. It is not a personal attack as he seems to want to read it as, it is another point of view.

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I Too Could Be a Councillor, Swindon says...
1:16pm Sun 4 May 08

The whole saga of this "vision" of "regeneration" stinks.
The area was cleared of seating, and established trees were felled, in an attempt to prevent undesirables from loitering in the area. Now a big television is installed, to attract people to loiter.
The market was closed, at short notice to traders, and now it is apparent that no suitable plans are even prepared.
How embarrassing!
Probably too busy counting more flats, hotels, and finding heritage to destroy

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
1:55pm Sun 4 May 08

So is this area to be licensed, because if not the sports supporters will merely go to their favourite watering hole as now. I am more than happy to engage in constructive debate, however the personal attacks were constructive or a debate. I note not comment from either of you on the Market place adjournment, for second or is it third time. One council commented they didn't like the look of the side of the building, that's a bit rich when this TV screen is on the side of a car park.

Report this post »

Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
1:57pm Sun 4 May 08

Correction a Council Officer said, before I'm corrected again. rest assured in order to get my percentages right I'll count the posts, mind you that will change when another poster posts.

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Donkey, Swindon says...
2:35pm Sun 4 May 08

I don't want to get started on felled mature trees, because that's the one thing that this Council is actually good at ... but, destroying established trees in parts of the town has destroyed nature.

Not only have so many usuable structures been flattened and surrounded by grafitti boards ... I have lost count of the number of fully established and healthy looking trees, often in panoramic views around town which have gone. Why? Many do not look diseased and many do not look to be dangerous.

Plaum's Pit fishing lake off Cheney Manor Road used to have a wonderful collection of trees around its edge ... the home to many birds and other wildlife ... the area has been annihilated, presumably under the instruction of the Council trying to save tree maintenance? Of course, it is a Labour stronghold and the Tories are trying a Magabee on us!

Why plant forest areas around the outskirts of the town when these mature trees are being taken out at such a rate.

They cannot suddenly replace many decades of growth overnight ... a scandalous act! It was so sad seeing all those wonderfully mature trees removed from the Wharf Green Block Paviour Area, Phase 1.

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Casual Observer, Swindon says...
4:27pm Sun 4 May 08

Robert Feal-Martinez wrote:
Andy Newell, perhaps the poor turn out was due to a lack of publicity, I may have missed it but I don't recall the Adver flagging up the launch or hearing about it on local radio. By the way by last should have read, money not well spent. CO, no idea as usual with your posts whether you are being sarcastic or otherwise.
I was being a little bit sarcastic... about the fact that you've seen fit to comment on something you clearly have not seen and know nothing about.

It's a big improvement to this area and I think they did a very good job, the trees look great. Slightly odd idea to have a gigantic telly but it will give the chavs something to look at in-between smoking, spitting, swearing and stuffing MacDonald's into their pasty faces.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
5:22pm Sun 4 May 08

CO, Donkey clearly doesn't agree about the trees.

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Casual Observer, Swindon says...
5:55pm Sun 4 May 08

Robert Feal-Martinez wrote:
CO, Donkey clearly doesn't agree about the trees.
I know, but I agree with Donkey about the trees. The seemingly needless felling of trees in Swindon has often left me seething - particularly the trees that lined the entrance to Lawn woods from old town High street. I'd like to know who got the backhander for that. All we have in their place are a bunch of sickly-looking saplings.

You can't really expect trees in front of the telly, god forbid, but I think we need a lot more trees around. They are proven to have a calming effect on people otherwise disposed to anti-social behaviour.

That's my antidote to chavs and graffiti scum - shove a tree up their trumpet.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
6:51pm Sun 4 May 08

Plaum's Pit fishing lake off Cheney Manor Road used to have a wonderful collection of trees around its edge


Donkey, in this case, the council were right in felling the trees. They were crack willow and had grown so large that they were shedding branches and falling under their own weight, clearly a highly dangerous situation.

Agreed the felling of the Wharf trees is a real shame.

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Donkey, Swindon says...
7:38pm Sun 4 May 08

Oddly enough, a close examination of many of the felled trees showed no disease whatsoever. Also, many of them were nowhere near to the water and were homes to many birds.

The sounds from the factories on the Industrial Estate were also muffled during the summer by the foliage, something which near neighbours will probably find a further nuisance will develop from.

We are treated very badly in this area ... no sign of any new replacement trees being planted around here, maybe because the Council want to put houses and flats all around the lake after the massive land sell-offs they apparently have planned on the adjacent willow plots.

What is this thing with building new homes around water ... that's the only reason they want the canal!?

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
7:43pm Sun 4 May 08

Oddly enough, a close examination of many of the felled trees showed no disease whatsoever.


They were not diseased, just too big to support their own weight. Several of them fell over of their own accord, and felling them was a necessary evil in this case. No doubt, when one of the branches fell on top of a fisherman or dog walker, the council would have got it in the neck for not making them safe!

Sorry Donkey, but credit where it's due, the council did the right thing on this occasion.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
8:21pm Sun 4 May 08

Andy, why is it then that the council do not use the same logic of safety when it comes to dead or dying trees on private land. They state it isn't their problem, even if the tree would actually fall onto the road, perhaps killing someone.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
8:24pm Sun 4 May 08

Andy, why is it then that the council do not use the same logic of safety when it comes to dead or dying trees on private land. They state it isn't their problem, even if the tree would actually fall onto the road, perhaps killing someone.


Robert, I am not a spokesperson for the council, I was only commenting on the specific case mentioned by Donkey.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
8:44am Mon 5 May 08

Andy, SBC have been pollaeding trees all over the Borough, for no obvious reason. I have spoken with residents who have complained bitterly to the council that the actions have not improved things for them, but increased noise pollution and in some cases denigrated their surroundings. The Council seem unable or unwilling to be honest as to why they are doing this. However the obvious reason is to save on maintenance. Try pulling down a tree to build a house and see what happens.

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Oxford, Toothill says...
11:23am Mon 5 May 08

Happened to be in town on Saturday and saw what a heap of crap it was! No picture, just radio commentary on the snooker, however, it gave me a civic sense of pride¿ How much money? It unnecessarily wastes electricity, it’s an easy target for vandals, and my bet is, that it will out of service more than it will be in service. And yes, as someone pointed out, the great switch-on was a big turn-off. I think everyone stayed at home and watched TV instead.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
12:24pm Mon 5 May 08

No Oxford you can't say that it upsets people

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
3:52pm Mon 5 May 08

I think Oxford has that right, given that he has at least visited the town centre.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
6:40pm Mon 5 May 08

Is that a concession then Honey that it is rubbish. I don't need to jump off a cliff to know that the result will be 'painful'.

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who dat?, says...
7:50pm Mon 5 May 08

Have they got a license for it??

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Donkey, Swindon says...
8:07pm Mon 5 May 08

I asked that question yesterday and none of our regular Councillors have posted a response ... maybe they have forgotten?

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Casual Observer, Swindon says...
9:27pm Mon 5 May 08

What a 'heap of crap' you lot are - moaning about anything new and demeaning the efforts of those regenerating the town centre.

Just as well nobody listens to any of you. Nothing would ever get done if they did.

I wandered through today and thought how much better it was, clean, tidy and with young people enjoying the open space. Even if you don't like the telly it still has had a top notch makeover.

RMF I don't expect you to comment on this as you know nothing about it - your kludgey witterings make you sound like you have a wet paper towel permanently in your mouth.

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HoneyPie, The Shire says...
10:06pm Mon 5 May 08

Robert, sweetie, that isn't a concession. It's a fact. Oxford has an absolute right to make comments on something he/she has actually taken the trouble to investigate. Whether other people agree or not is part of the democratic process.

Making sweeping comments and criticism on something that you have not seen is being a little unfair, methinks.

And please don't take this as a personal attack on you again. It is not. Honestly.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
8:10am Tue 6 May 08

No Oxford you can't say that it upsets people


Another rather childish quote from RFM. Not the kind of comment I would expect from a grown up with political ambitions.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
8:26am Tue 6 May 08

Heavens, and I'm accused of being too serious, childish attacks require similar responses.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
11:09am Tue 6 May 08

Robert, I said nothing about you being too serious, I said you were miserable and cynical. Now it seems I can add sarcastic and childish to the list.

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Robert Feal-Martinez, Swindon says...
1:13pm Tue 6 May 08

Realism is often mistaken for cynicism. The fact remains that if this TV screen is the best and according to the council part of the most important sector of the regeneration Swindon is in trouble.

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LordBelacqua, Swindon says...
1:33pm Tue 6 May 08

Bob, if you travel into town, have a look at Wharf Green. Even in it's current state it looks rather nice IMO - it's open, it's bright - it'll be fantastic in the summer. If there wasn't a McD's, instead perhaps an open-front cafe, then it'd be fitting of a decent town.

I walk through there on a Wednesday mornings, and when the sun is shining, I do actually feel some pride that if we could make the rest of the town look like Wharf Green, we'd have a town to be proud of.

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Andy Newell, Swindon says...
2:15pm Tue 6 May 08

Realism is often mistaken for cynicism.


Robert, I could accept realism over cynicism if you had a better balance of positive vs. negative things to say about anything. I'm not just talking about your comments here, do you ever make any positive or 'well done' type of remarks about anything? Life really isn't that bleak. Swindon really isn't that bad. Even the council does the right thing or two now and then, honestly they do!

I'm not saying they have done the best thing here, maybe time will tell, but I went to Wharf Green this morning (not the first time I've been through, you should go and take a look yourself before condemning it) and must agree with LordBelacqua in saying the area now looks clean, bright and interesting.

But then I guess, optimism is often mistaken for fantasy?

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dailydooh, swindon says...
12:26am Thu 5 Jun 08

Can someone tell me where in the BBC Charter it gives them permission ti fritter away license payers' money on giant outdoor screens? Haven't they got better things to do with it? This blase approach and lip service to what business they should really be in, annoys me. AND don't get me started on the iPlayer either - a service that is killing the UKs Internet backbone - see http://www.dailydooh
.com/archives/2001 for our take on both

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Points West presenter Alex Lovell switches on the big screen Points West presenter Alex Lovell switches on the big screen

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