Over the years there have been numerous complaints about the sad appearance of the old Coop building on the corner of Kings Avenue and Radford Street. Well, at long last it looks as if the redevelopment is nearly complete and that the building is soon to take on a new look.

It has taken a while but soon there will be a marketing suite opened in the premises to sell the eight apartments and two town houses which have been created in the refurbishment. Look out for some rather snazzy advertising boards as you drive past  soon.

I walked past last week and spoke to a couple of the lads who have been employed on the job and was impressed by their excitement about the standard of the the build. They have an obvious pride in the job. I will be taking a look when they open for viewing - downsizing to a pad  just across the road from Langtry’s does have certain attractions!

The long running saga of the Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme seems to be reaching a conclusion. I have today received a letter from ‘Highways Staffordshire’ (new branding - new logo) explaining that they have considered all objections to the scheme and reached the following decisions.
The following proposals will be implemented: Traffic calming along Mount Avenue, Mount Street, Victor Street, Kings Avenue and Tunley Street. Stonefield area weight restriction and parking restrictions adjacent to Meaford level crossing.
All proposals for Northesk Street and Dominic Street have been abandoned(thanks to a superb campaign of opposition by residents supported by the Independent group on Stone Town Council)

The scheme will be extensively monitored with the collection of further traffic speed/volume and accident data and if required the one way orders for Victor Street, Kings Avenue and Tunley Street will be implemented (how’s that for a cop out?!)

Construction works are programmed for June 2008 and all affected frontagers will be notified.

Stafford Borough Council is very adept at issuing press releases about ‘good news’ but trying to find out the facts about the ‘not so good’ is like extracting teeth! Stone Town Council has been very concerned for some time about the lack of formal notification about the future of Stone in Bloom and the lack of any hard facts. So it was very useful that an informal meeting was convened yesterday between Borough Council officers and Town Council representatives on the former Stone in Bloom committee.

The officers were able to reassure us that Stafford Borough Council’s Streetscene Department will continue to supply flower displays in parks and flower borders etc., hanging baskets and barrier boxes as in previous years. However, neither Stafford nor Stone will be entered into any regional or national In Bloom competitions.

This is very sad. Stone has achieved some notable successes over the years in these competitions thanks to the hard work and dedication of a group of volunteers on the Stone in Bloom committee. The Borough’s own proposed ‘in house’ competitions will not carry the same weight - so, after the meeting,  we asked our Town Clerk to investigate the implications of Stone entering the regional In Bloom competeitions under it’s own steam. My own view is that if time is on our side and the cost is affordable, we should go for it. Watch this space!

The thorny old problem of traffic using Stone’s High Street was raised again during last night’s Council meeting. Let’s get it absolutely clear - legally no traffic is allowed down the High Street at any time unless they have a permit, are delivering heavy goods to premises with no rear access or are transporting large quatities of cash ie security vans.

But the signs are so confusing and the police are never around to issue tickets. So everyone assumes that when the bollards are removed at four o’clock anyone can use the street. There was a suggestion last year that rising bollards be installed so that the street would be closed 24/7 except to permitted users but I suspect that the costs are going to prove prohibitive. We have also tried to persuade the police to have a blitz on issuing tickets but, again, it’s a question of resources.

In the meantime, I suggested that we should see if Highways could come up with a better and clearer sign. Whilst a lot of people will always deliberatly flaunt the rules, there are many who genuinely do not understand the restrictions.  A clearer sign might go someway to help.

Yesterday Stone’s Youth Cafe, the Den, was officially opened for business. Local police officer Andy Whitehall had been invited by the young folk to perform the official opening ceremony - a fact which speaks volumes for the high esteem and respect that Andy holds amongst the youngsters.

Over the last few weeks the Walton Suite in the Frank Jordan Centre has been transformed into the Den. Building works and the forming of the cafe bar has been carried out by builders and joiners but most of the refurbishment and decoration has been done by the young folk themselves. It is a fantastic venue and I have no doubts at all about its future. I’m convinced that the kids are going to make the venture a great success. Congratulations to everyone involved!

A couple of weeks ago Christine Conlin,  from the Stone and Ecceshall Gazette, called me and asked if she could do an article about my sponsored slim. We agreed to meet and I answered all her questions. When the interview was over she whipped out her camera and asked for a photograph. She suggested that, because I was raising funds for Andy Whitehall’s boxing club, it might make a better photo if we could devise a boxing theme.

So we went over to Westbridge Park Sports Hall and borrowed some of their boxing gloves. But then Christine suggested “Off with your kit!” At my age I don’t get requests like that too often - so off came the shirt and the photos were taken!

Oh dear! Has it caused a stir! The magazine dropped through letter boxes over the weekend and I can hardly walk a yard in town before being accosted with a suitably appropriate comment! It’s all good fun, though, and if it has helped to highlight the fantastic work Andy is doing with the young folk of the town then I’ve no regrets!

My comments about Radford Street were picked up by the Stafford Post and used for a front page article last week. Several people have stopped me to sympathise with the traders and to lend support to a campaign to try and raise the profile of Radford Street and its shops and businesses. I have agreed to talk again to one gentleman next week to see what we can up with.

In the meantime, I have some good news! The old Co-op building at the end Kings Avenue has been in a disgraceful condition for years. It was boarded up about five years ago when planning permission was grant for conversion to apartments and offices.  Although some work started, it’s been dreadfully slow and the hoardings have been the target for graffiti on numerous occasions. Indeed last summer a group of us independent councillors spent a Sunday morning painting the boards to cover up some particularly offensive graffiti.

However, the pace of the conversion work speeded up some months ago and over the last few weeks new windows have been installed. Today I stopped and spoke to the workmen and was told that all the apartments should be finished in about four weeks and the two shop units shoulsd be ready in six weeks. And from what I could see of what was going on behingd the hoardings they are doing a very good job indeed.

This iconic building could soon be an asset in the street. I can’t wait to see it without it’s cladding!

Four years ago Tim Scott arrived in Stone as the Administrator of the Stone Market Town Initative charged with the responsibility of overseeing the distribution of half a million pounds worth of funding designed to regenerate Stone and the surrounding villages. Tim hails from over the River Dove but immediately adopted Stone and soon became a fervant advocate of the town. His job has been far from easy and he has had to endure quite a lot of criticism. But he has always dealt with everyone with great patience and politeness and has carried out his job with enormous efficiency and diplomacy.

So this week has been a very sad one for those of us who have become good friends of Tim. He retires next Monday so Tim has been taking his farewells in Stone. Of course, Tim’s greatest contribution from my perspective has been his involvement with the Stone Food and Drink Festival. A member from the beginning, Tim’s contribution has been immense and we shall all miss him. So yesterday the Food and Drink Festival Working Group treated Tim to a lunch in Granvilles and today a somewhat larger gathering met in the Swan to wish Tim well in his retirement. A sad time indeed.

Within minutes of writing my last posting I drove down Radford Street and felt like Frankie Howard! As he used to say “Woe, verily woe, and yet another woe!” Having outlined the difficulties facing businesses in Radford Street, I was alarmed to see the windows of the Royal Exchange pub all boarded up.

I know Andy, the licensee, has been studying law at Stafford University and is seeking a new career but I didn’t realise he was leaving quite so soon. I do hope the pub company can quickly find a new tenant. The last thing Radford Street needs is another empty building.

Last week, two events occurred which again highlighted the problems facing traders in Radford Street. For years, shopkeepers and owners of businesses here have tried to keep their heads above water despite doing business on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’, that is, on the far side of the one way system. Cut off from the rest of the town, they have felt that they are often forgotten or ignored when things happen in the rest of town.

A good example was when Radford Street businesses were initially excluded from the MTI Shop Front Improvement Scheme. It was only after some serious behind the scenes lobbying (and a threat to resign from the Board of the MTI) that I was able to get the rules changed to include Radford Street businesses.

At last week’s Town Council Planning meeting, we were asked to comment on an application for change of use to enable a young lady to start up a nail and beauty salon in a shop that has been empty for months. I was staggered when one of my colleagues spoke to object on the grounds that we had enough of those sort of shops already! I took issue with that view stating that we should encourage and support any young person trying to set up a business in the town. Rather another beauty salon than an empty shop. I’m pleased to report all other speakers agreed with me.

And then on Saturday I popped into Mason’s Menswear and was saddened to hear that Les Mason will be closing down in six weeks time. Les is 65 this year and has been thinking of retirement for a while. Although he had hoped to carry on for a while longer he says that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet - so sadly Stone will lose another old established business.

I don’t know the answer to Radford Street’s problems. Yes, of course, the bypass should have been built up Margaret Street and across to Northesk Street to join up with Christchurch Way thereby keeping the bottom end of Radford Street in the pedestrianised part of town - but that’s history and will never happen now. So what can be done? I’m sure a marketing campaign might help. If the traders could be persuaded to pool resources it might be possible to raise public awareness of the shops there. And we should all make a point of using Radford Street businesses when we can especially as they are now accessed so easily from the new Christchurch Way car park.

Any other ideas?