From our Files: Mudeford ‘Manhatten’...parakiting incident...no relief for town
50 YEARS AGO
PLANS for a massive block of 32 flats with six garages and underground parking for 26 cars at Sandhills, Mudeford, looked “more like Manhattan than Mudeford” suggested deputy mayor T Staniforth at Wednesday’s Christchurch Development Control Committee.
But after discussion, the majority of the committee came to the conclusion that in essence they were not unduly disturbed by proposals though they would like the “breaking up” of the block and a different treatment for the underground garages.
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HOLIDAYMAKERS were injured on Saturday evening when some “parakiting” got out of control. The incident occurred at Hurst Spit where a boat was to pull a girl, suspended from the parakite, off the beach and over the sea.
A number of people were moved to a safe part of the beach but the boat set off in the wrong direction and the girl was blown along the spit, knocking people over.
Nine-year-old David West, of Great Missenden, Bucks, was hit on the face by the towing rope and as a result suffered facial cuts, two black eyes, grazing to his forehead and bruising to his chest.
He received treatment at Lymington hospital. David’s mother had a badly bruised thigh and her spectacles were broken,
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A REQUEST by Christchurch Chamber of Trade for free parking for the first hour has been received by the council’s works committee. The request has prompted the loss of parking spaces and additional use of the town’s council central car park since the opening of Sainsbury’s.
The committee has called, however, for a report from the borough engineer Mr R Mockbridge on the possibility of finding other car park sites. And they have also called for a report on a suggestion by Councillor P Stickley that free parking should be permitted for the first hour on Highcliffe cliff top car parks and at Mudeford Quay during winter months so that local residents can enjoy the amenities without charge.
At present there is a free hour parking at what are termed shopping car parks in the town. Members were concerned about the lack of parking spaces.
Councillor Stickley said that only the day before a lady had complained to him that when she drove into town to make a mortgage payment she was unable to park anywhere.
Treasurer Mr C Dewsnap said he feared there would be a reduction in income if they were to extend the first hour of free parking and he would get rid of it completely. It caused complications and was awkward to control.
Councillor Stickley said at Highcliffe and Mudeford residents liked to sit in their cars there, or stretch their legs in the sunshine for perhaps half an hour and he thought it was wrong that they should have to pay for this privilege.
25 YEARS AGO
HAVING reached three score years and ten most people confine themselves to simple down to earth pastimes. Not so Tony Ashworth and his wife Jill for they have just built their second do-it-yourself aeroplane.
“Our daughters think we are dotty, but there are lots of dotty people still flying,” said Jill. Tony spent 32 years as an engineer in the Fleet Air Arm. The couple built their first DIY plane in their workshop at their home in Kings Saltern Road, Lymington.
A 22ft long ‘Streak Shadow’ with a 28ft wingspan powered by a 65 horsepower engine. That took two years. The second aero plane they built is a Pulsar III Sky Star.
Tony said: “The kit was a bit more basic than we anticipated but it has kept us occupied.”
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A TOTTON woman who has suffered from breast cancer three times has called a public meeting over fears that there may be clusters of cancer cases in the local area.
She and a group of cancer survivors hope to get to the bottom of what may be causing high proportions of cases in certain places.
Gwynne Wallis, of Ringwood Road, Totton, formed the Totton Women’s Environmental Network in November after eight women in close proximity to her home contracted cancer, three of whom died.
Among the five survivors, four were breast cancer cases. Mrs Wallis believes that pollution could be responsible for the cluster.
She said: “Only 5 percent of breast cancer cases are genetic based. I want to know how the rest are getting it.”
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CHRISTCHURCH town centre must have an outer relief road, or else it will grind to a halt within 20 years, according to members of the borough council’s technical services committee.
Councillors at Tuesday’s committee meeting were unhappy that the Draft Local Transport Plan did not include any reference to an outer relief road for the town.
Without it they said the plan was inherently flawed and would not benefit Christchurch residents. By showing their dissatisfaction with the report they hoped to send a strong message to Dorset County Council and Bournemouth and Poole borough councils, who had drawn up the plan that they would keep pressing for an outer relief road.
The five year statutory local transport plan looks at all aspects of transportation in Christchurch, encouraging people to use different modes of transport it points out alternatives to the car such as cycling, buses, rail and park and ride systems.
Councillor David Jones said the plan as it stood was a recipe for congestion. Christchurch, he said, had a major traffic problem exacerbated by the fact that all vehicles heading from the east towards Bournemouth had to go through the town and seasonal traffic heading along the A35 from the south headed towards Christchurch.
The only solution, he said, was to have a bypass to take through traffic out of the town.
