Voice of … Salisbury Road

Posted by admin on 26/1/10 • Categorised as News, No. 57 Mar 2008

Local opinion from Salisbury Road

The Voice went down Salisbury Road this month for our series of residents’ opinions. Twenty-five percent of our questionnaires were returned, and our thanks, as always, to those who filled them in and, more particularly, those who added extra comments.
Bohemia. Most of those who responded (87%) said they like living in Bohemia, though one person definitely said they do not. Peter Powell added, “Wonderful parks and woodland, lovely seaside and jolly good air!” 80% think it is a friendly neighbourhood, though 2% think it is not, and one person (perhaps a new resident) said they don’t know.
Centre. 60% think that Bohemia needs a community centre, while 27% say no, it does not, and 13% voiced no opinion one way or the other.
Phone box. 40% favour our idea of a red phone box and 33% are against the idea.
Post office. 67% said that if Bohemia still had its post office, they would use it at least weekly, and only 13% said they would not.
ASDA. 53% are looking forward to having an ASDA in Silverhill, while 33% said they are not looking forward to it, and 13% don’t care one way or the other.
Parking. One resident commented, “Atrocious parking, and no facilities for people visiting the shops from other areas.” Ian Paton commented unfavourably about parking and also about vehicle crime. Ironically enough his car was broken into on the very same night that he had received a £30 double parking ticket from the police.
Churches. 20% attend one of the local churches regularly, though 80% do not.
Street cleaning. A massive 87% are dissatisfied with the standard of street cleaning, though 13% said they are satisfied with it. One resident added that it is “totally unacceptable.” She continued, “The litter needs to be picked up by the Council after the bin-men have come on a Tuesday – every week…not monthly!” Another resident said, “Far too much litter everywhere.” Mrs S. Tarling said, “The street cleaning has drastically deteriorated over the last six years.” Susan Coleman said, “Litter is a big concern of mine, as well as dogs fouling everywhere…Something really should be done. Also what has increased is fly-tipping behind where I live, where the new builds are.” She added, “Are they really too lazy to go to the tip?”
Architecture. Almost everyone (93%) thinks that the architectural features of Bohemia should be preserved, while a single dissenting voice said no.
Dog fouling. 87% agree with our comment that people who let their dogs foul the pavement should be put in the village stocks. One added, “The dog mess is absolutely disgusting!” Another informed us of a dog fouling notice (reproduced on p 22) which has appeared at the entrance to the footpath running alongside St. Paul’s School.
Street bobbies. 93% of residents said they like to see street bobbies patrolling our streets. Buses. 47% think that the bus services are good or adequate, while 27% said they are not, and a further 27% said they don’t know.
Voice. A full 100% regularly read the Village Voice – though those who filled in our questionnaire would be likely to be readers.
Lighting. 87% are satisfied with the provision of street lighting in Salisbury Road, while 13% are not.
Horntye. One resident said that they are “not happy with the proposed buildings on the Horntye site. At the moment this is very pleasant and rural…It will be an eyesore once built on.”
Behaviour. Another commented on anti-social behaviour, saying “There have been no incidents (where we were victims) since October 2007.” Considering that this was only four months before our questionnaire, what a telling comment on today’s society.