Blue 'n' white Broadway.

garinda · 11-12-2005, 18:42

I've mentioned it in other threads regarding Broadway, which I've admitted looks better than I thought it would now it's nearing completion, but what about the horrid blue and white facade?

There has been some attempt to use stone and other interesting materials, in both the new buildings and the refurbishment of Broadway, but it is totally dominated by the blue and white plastic facade of the Council building over the shops, lots of which are broken. Some modernist 60's building is worth preserving, this is certainly not.

For a relatively small amount of money these could be replaced with stone cladding, or even plastic in a more natural colour.

Why spoil the ship for a ha'ppeth of tar?

hedman2003 · 11-12-2005, 18:48

Couldn't agree more it has always looked grotty and out of place, a lick of paint wouldn't do amiss although some tasteful cladding would be better

Margaret Pilkington · 11-12-2005, 18:54

Already the look is marred by the scourge of modern life......Chewing gum......and why did they stop at the betting shop.....didn't they have enough cash to carry on? And at the town hall end the renovations stop abruptly and are finished off by a strip of nasty tarmac. Personally I think we have been short changed.....I can't see value for money in this renovation.

garinda · 11-12-2005, 18:59

I honestly think they read on here the reaction to the tarmac and decided to top it with the red gritty stuff. According to Peter Britcliffe, pictured arms spread wide in the middle of the refurbishment recently, it won't be finished until the Spring so hopefully the rest of the tarmac will vanish as well.

Since it was only supposed to take twelve weeks when it was started back in August, I wonder if the budget has over run the £360,000 as well?

hedman2003 · 11-12-2005, 19:03

I understand that the cost of the refurbishment of Broadway was in excess of £300,000 cant quite see that it was good value for money but then again Im not a builder. I'm not sure how the tarmac enhances the area although the previous surface was a bit of a safety hazzard particularly when wet.
Who remembers the old days with the chaos at the pelican crossing on Broadway when people 15 abreast were all funnelled by the railings to the crossing outside M&S to meet the hoards coming in the opposite direction
It was like watching American Football

Doug · 11-12-2005, 19:08

Ok, here we go.

When I drove past the top of Broadway this afternoon me though to myself, “by hell that looks nice” What are they on about?

Then on walking back from parking to car I had chance to have a closer look. What a disappointment. The visual impact is good at first sight, but it’s in the detail that we’ve been let down again. The Big planters are out of place and don’t melt into the overall theme. I like the Stainless Steel effect of the bollards and the lamp poles. The seating isn’t that bad either. The trees will (if they survive) look fantastic next spring and the little pink river is for the most part quite acceptable. But the detail? Good god, the edging between the flags and pink river looks like it was done by a blind, one legged lesbian, (the word lesbian was used purely for effect). At the extreme end “Town Hall side” they have just filled in the gaps with Black Tarmac which looks cheap, and the same effect is used in front of the town Hall’s extension to which you allude. It is time the Blue and White went, but remember it’s been a land mark for over 30 years. But again the people of Accrington have let themselves down with the rubbish just thrown about anywhere. Where are the Bins and were are wardens to enforce the bi laws. (The “bi” word was use purely for effect yet again.) Over all an improvement, but so much more could have been achieved…………

Margaret Pilkington · 11-12-2005, 19:14

The seats in Marble.....designed to give you piles.......I am not surprised at the lack of 'finish'......just disappointed that so much has been spent to very little effect. The terracotta grit pathway is not going to give up the chewy very easily. Not much in the way of practical and functional design.

SPUGGIE J · 11-12-2005, 19:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by hedman2003

I understand that the cost of the refurbishment of Broadway was in excess of £300,000 cant quite see that it was good value for money but then again Im not a builder. I'm not sure how the tarmac enhances the area although the previous surface was a bit of a safety hazzard particularly when wet.
Who remembers the old days with the chaos at the pelican crossing on Broadway when people 15 abreast were all funnelled by the railings to the crossing outside M&S to meet the hoards coming in the opposite direction
It was like watching American Football

They were good days to shop in Accy now its approaching desolation.

Acrylic-bob · 14-12-2005, 14:38

I happened to be wandering along Broadway just the other day and noticed that trees have now been planted. How nice, how colourful and just the thing to soften and break up the ugly monotony of the buildings which line the street.

On stepping closer to inspect, I was more than a little dismayed to realise that the trees were Oak.

Ok, I can appreciate the moronic associations which informed the choice, but I cannot help feeling that a tragic mistake has been made here.

Consider the facts:

The average oak tree has a lifespan of up to 200years (depending on environmental conditions).

It generally prefers to spread it's branches and can do so for a distance of up to forty feet from its trunk, in all directions. It's root-run is similarly prodigious, and, as its roots grow and develop they tend to thicken, often quite dramatically, lifting pavement, walls, foundations and anything else in their way.

A mature oak can be expected to grow to be over 100 feet tall and it's trunk can be as much as ten feet thick!

A mature oak will take upwards of fifty gallons of water out of the ground per day, causing localised subsidence as the subsoil dries out.

The trees planted on Broadway while still maintaining the juvenile habit of retaining their leaves through the winter are, nevertheless, about fifteen years old. Replanting will knock back their development by a year or so, but by the time the trees are old enough to celebrate their twentieth birthday they will start to produce acorns, by the bucketfull! A single mature tree can produce 2500 per year. Very nice, but what do you do with them? Unless we have a sudden invasion of squirrels or the council intend to start grazing pigs on Broadway they will become a hazard to life and limb. One only has to look at the mess the horsechestnuts in front of the Market Hall create every autumn to realise the truth of that statement.

Oak trees are planted primarily to provide shade and with an eighty foot leaf spread they are really good at doing that.

So, we can look forward to a Broadway perpetually cast in stygian gloom, where the buildings are subsiding and the pavement lifting, and a very interesting shopping experience each autumn as irate shopkeepers battle to prevent herds of pigs and squirrels running amok in their stores. That is, of course, if the vandals don't get to them first!

Well done HBC! It's nice to see that so much thought is put into planning our resurgent town centre.

garinda · 14-12-2005, 15:02

I noticed they were oak too, but they looked so weary I wasn't 100% sure.

Never mind, by the time they are covering the all area in shade we'll be long gone.

SPUGGIE J · 14-12-2005, 16:18

10 - 15 from now the council will proberly pull them down.

harwood red mini me · 14-12-2005, 21:11

Oh well by the time the roots come through it will give HBC another reason to resurface with another colour!!!!

WillowTheWhisp · 14-12-2005, 22:49

How on earth are they going to spread their branches in the manner to which an oak tree is accustomed when they are confined in those steel staright jackets?

In case anybody missed the fiasco when they concreted the bollards into the tarmac I found the photos I took of that. Now you knw why they had to put a top coat over that mess.

jaysay · 15-12-2005, 09:55

Broadway looks great but your right about the building . Iasked what was being done about it . Apparently it is not owned by the Council but Britcliffes on their case. What about the guy who has been saked for singing IRA songs at a Christmas Party. Who is he? Anybody know

jimmi5bellies · 15-12-2005, 10:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by hedman2003

I understand that the cost of the refurbishment of Broadway was in excess of £300,000 cant quite see that it was good value for money but then again Im not a builder. I'm not sure how the tarmac enhances the area although the previous surface was a bit of a safety hazzard particularly when wet.
Who remembers the old days with the chaos at the pelican crossing on Broadway when people 15 abreast were all funnelled by the railings to the crossing outside M&S to meet the hoards coming in the opposite direction
It was like watching American Football

Yea i remember that well. Used to sit on the flowerbed walls eating a pastie and watching the cars trying desperately to knock somebody over who even dared to cross the road.