Cotswolds Line reopening

Wed 20 Jul 2011, 13:53

Far from being parochial, my concerns about the bridge are exactly the opposite (universal I suppose). I want Charlbury to be treated the same as anywhere else and not given "special" treatment if that treatment is in fact worse than that given to other places.

The bridge is just another example of "Any old crap is good enough for Charlbury", i.e. trying to fob us off with inferior products and services because it is known that we tend to put with what we are given like a flock of uncomplaining Cotswold sheep and consider that whatever is done for us by the powers that be must naturally be for the best (as evidenced by a number of the "mustn't grumble" posters in this thread). This sort of attitude might have been OK during the Blitz but it is now 2011 not 1941 and we should surely aspire to something better in this day and age.

Examples of Charlbury being fobbed off with inferior services (all of which have been discussed on this forum in recent times) are as follows: the lousy rail service we were given by FGW in the middle years of the last decade; the current recycling service, which yesterday left a trail of detritus (cardboard boxes, plastic wrapping and bottles) in its wake; the appalling quality of many of the roads in and around the town; the threat to close Charlbury Library; frequent interruptions to our power supply; poor TV reception; lack of gritting of the roads and pavements during the last few severe winters. Some people think the above make Charlbury "quaint" or "just like living in the 1950s"; I think it makes it ugly, dangerous and an inferior place in which to live. I like living here but the quality of life for all could be so much better with a little bit of thought and willpower from the powers that be.

I really don't care about the colour of the bridge; what I do care about is having some ugly, oversized, not-fit-for-purpose, badly designed piece of metalwork plonked down on the edge of a pleasant Cotswold town and then still not being fully operational six and a half weeks after it was opened! To then be told via this forum that "it is all for your own good", "you must put up with what you are given", "please change the subject", etc. just adds insult to injury.

I think we should stick up for ourselves and refuse to be lumbered with any more substandard services. After all, we are paying for all of the above via our taxes or, in the case of the bridge, our rail fares (which will no doubt be hiked dramatically in January as a result). Let's campaign for better services for Charlbury - because we're worth it!